Easy or Right

I have missed a couple days of writing about my meditations, but I have been thinking a lot the last couple days about the difference between doing what is right versus doing what is easy. There are examples of both all around, and I have been looking at each one, and thinking about my own life and wondering how I would handle various situations, and thinking about grace in the moment. Because it is not always easy to know, in an instant, what to do, how to react, what path to take, what is moral or right. Sometimes what looks right at the time turns out to be wrong. Sometimes what feels wrong turns out, in fact, after further consideration, to be the long term best option.

So here are some thoughts. Having moral courage is not always cut and dried. First, and most important, moral courage isn't about whether or not you are scared. Sometimes courage means doing something even IF you are scared. I think quite often people do things out of moral imperative even though they are afraid because they can't live with themselves any other way. Going back in history, you have the underground railroad, where people helped the slaves to escape to freedom, or even those who helped them learn to read and write. I am sure there was great fear in helping, but they did it anyway, because it was right. Could I have done that? I am afraid the fear would have held me back.

Women have voting rights because the suffragettes were willing to protest and even go to jail so we have that right (and we had best protect it for our daughters and granddaughters.) Wealthy women became social outcasts, their families were angry, it was uncomfortable and probably cost them dearly in a lot of ways we don't know about, but they did it anyway, because they felt they had a higher purpose. That is moral courage. I admire them. Could I have done that? I am not so sure.

More recently, you had civil rights protesters and those who protested against the Vietnam War. But the cause of equality was worth the risk to those who took it because their moral values demanded no less. We now have protests about various things all around us, people who believe in their causes and take great risks because they believe their cause is just and worthy. They weren't out there in the sub-zero temps for fun. They believed that it was just and necessary, and their values led them to be there. That is moral courage, and I respect them for it. (I also respect our 1st Amendment right to protest, and think they have a right to do it safely.)

Those are huge things, obviously, but there are opportunities on a much smaller scale that arise all the time, too, where your moral values are tested. Do you make the easy lie or tell the hard truth about something, for example. Lots of things arise in a day where you have to make choices, easy or hard, and you need to make moral judgements that align with your own values.

Thinking about what I, personally, am willing to sacrifice for my own personal moral values, do I have that kind of courage? I have always stood on my values, even as a kid, and solidified that as an adult. For example, I refused to shop at certain stores long before boycotts were a thing because they didn't treat people right, so they don't need my money or my support. I have always tried to walk the walk instead of speaking empty words, putting my values into action, rather than talking about it. But is that really doing what is quietly right, or is that doing what is easy? I question myself on that, and I'm not sure I don't come up short. (At 65, you would think I would have nailed this down by now, but nope. Still struggling.)

I recently encouraged my own daughter to do something that was antithetical to my own values, and hers, because I felt it was the safest thing to do in a particular situation that had arisen. I did not feel good about it, and ultimately, I changed my mind and asked her to forget that idea and apologized for even asking that of her. But I've thought about that quite a lot ever since, because it revealed how quickly and easily the bar lowers for me, especially when the welfare of my child is involved. This was not a really major breach or anything, it was a small scale give on something that ultimately wouldn't really matter to anyone but her and me, but it has made me think a lot about the importance of holding to my values, even when doing what is right is not easy or takes courage. My lack of peace in the wake of that small breach tells me I need to reexamine myself and shore up my moral courage a little bit, I think, because I am lacking.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians from jail. He had endured much suffering and hardship, and yet he continued to celebrate his faith, because he understood that true peace comes from the grace of God. This is a joyful letter to people he loved and wanted to thank for their loving support of his ministry, and it is uplifting and courageous. In times hardship, I consistently come back to this verse. I can do all things because God will give me courage to face the day, even when it isn't easy.