Moral Courage

Ella W. Hoag

When some one wrote that "moral may refer to the Science or practice of right conduct," he certainly gave a concise definition of the word "moral." An equally terse statement of the meaning of "courage" was made when it was said that "courage is that quality of mind which enables one to encounter danger and difficulty with firmness or without fear." Mankind, however, has not always seen that only as these two are united can perfect firmness, with an accompanying freedom from fear, be realized under whatever stress.

Men have believed all down through the ages that there could be courage which had power, but which had little if anything to do with morality. This sense of courage has been merely a belief in animality or human might, and has more often ended in positive wrong than in a negative something which was miscalled right. Because such so-called courage has generally been based on a desire to strike back or resent the danger or difficulty with which it was confronted—hoping thus to win freedom—it has not been strange that the evil in the premise has appeared in the conclusion. Animal courage has therefore come to be seen by Christian thinkers to be weakness rather than strength, and they have naturally desired to replace it with that moral courage which has its foundation in "the Science or practice of right conduct."

In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 514) Mrs. Eddy writes: "Moral courage is 'the lion of the tribe of Juda,' the king of the mental realm. Free and fearless it roams in the forest. Undisturbed it lies in the openfield, or rests in 'green pastures, ... beside the still waters.'" Now although moral courage is a quality so much respected by mankind, it has not been understood to be so triumphant as Mrs. Eddy pictures it. While men have believed in its desirability, at the same time they have imagined it was frequently unsuccessful in its attempts to stand for the right: that it might, indeed, often be overthrown. As a consequence, the efforts to use it have lacked both firmness and fearlessness; there has been associated with its use too much of the sense that one may do right now, but must wait for his reward until some indefinite future time.

Not so does the Christian Scientist approach the thought of moral courage. Accepting his Leader's definition of it as "the king of the mental realm," he sees that he must companion with it in all his practice of Christian Science—in all his demonstration of scientific Christianity. He recognizes that only as he understands its nature and allows it to leaven all his thinking and acting can he be assured of having that dominion over all evil which is absolutely necessary to prove his own at-one-ment with God, the All-good.

It is one thing, however, to meditate on all the fine elements of moral courage; to contemplate its great power as an instrument for the overcoming of every wrong condition or circumstance; to think of its invincibility against all presentments of evil; and quite another to put it into such practical use that it shall roam "free and fearless" in the forest of human beliefs; lie down "undisturbed" in the open field where all error is exposed; and "rest" with the calm of victory won, in "green pastures, ... beside the still waters."

As Christian Scientists we must learn so to understand and love the right, the truth of being which Christian Science so clearly reveals, that the courage to stand with and for it, at all times, under all circumstances, will become a perfectly natural and spontaneous activity. What a multitude of opportunities to employ and test our moral courage are to be found in each day's experiences! For instance, there are the times in our own thinking when our love of good must be protected by such a courageous moral sense that no argument of evil shall tempt us to turn aside even momentarily from our unfaltering stand for our highest understanding of right.

As we learn to express constant moral courage in our thinking, it will be a comparatively easy matter to use it in our acting. He who has seen this divinely mental quality win victory after victory in his own mental wrestlings will find his loyalty to right remaining all unmoved whatever the form of error with which evil may claim to confront him. He will never fear defeat, because he will have proved so positively the power of moral courage to vanquish evil that he will constantly go forward with rejoicing to ever greater conquest. Like David, he will always be saying in his heart, "I come ... in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel."

Ella W. Hoag

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