The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1957-09-20

DRY? No meek
little yes-manwas so
trary his very DR.. Foreman
name is a symbol Of courage
against odds.
Two Kinds Of Courage
There are two kinds of courage:
physical and moral. Physical cour-
age means keeping on doing what
you know you ought to do. ever
when you are being terribly hurt.
or about to be hurt. A scoutmaster
in a boat with some small boys
got into some heavy waves. the
boat overturned, and everybody
climbed on top Of the upside-down
craft. Then it became evident that
there. were too many for the boat
in that position. So the scout
master, after pulling the last boy
oat OF the water, swan alongside
for a while, and when he could
swim no longer. quietly sank
dying I'd save a boys life, That
took courage. Then there is also
moral courage, which means do
ing or saying what you believe
til be right. in spite Of ridicule or
powerful contrary opinions.
Against Orders
Courage always is against some
thing. danger, public opinion,
pain, Daniels courage sometimes
was Of the rare and risky sort,
courage TO defy orders from his
official superiors, Daniels salary
was paid by the royal court, and
like many salaried men. when or
dered to do something against his
conscience and religion. might
have shrugged it off We'll. I hate
toi do il. it goes against the grain.
But this is my job and who am |
toEtalk back 10 my employer? I've
gotta play ball if ! stay on the
payroll Daniel was made Of
stouter stuff. When he knew that
God said M thing and his boss
said another. even If the boss was
a king with powers of life and
death. Daniel saw no choice but
TO obey God rather than men.
Against Custom
Daniel 'bucked'' not only an old
fashioned, oriental dictator, all
dressed UP in crown and gown. but
something that is just as tyran-
meal: public opinion and long
standing customs. II he had@had
the public on his side, he might
not have been reported flor ex-
ample in the incident of the pray
ers at the open window. Back
home in Palestine many would
have known that he was right,
here in Persia almost no one
agreed with him. To 60 against
what everybody does'-usually
meaning by Everybody the more
important people of a community
takes nerve. 1t can be wrong, too.
fof very often public opinion is
just about right. One ought to
think very carefully before flying
the opposite course to every one
ellie. But when Daniel knew he
was right, he knew that fifty thou
sand Modes and Persians could be
wrong, and he acted accordingly.
Against Personal Interests
Many people take the easiest
way. All they ask is. What does
this get me- Where does it get
me? Will this bring me more pres
tige, will it end in my promotion.
will it help me up the LADDER" II
the answer is Yes, then they 60
ahead. They don't dare do any
thing contrary to their own inter-
estS. But Daniel dared. More than
once he had the courage to do
something or to say something
when it looked as if by doing or
saying it he would put an end to
his career. But the king always
kept him on, though for a while
he might turn against him. Men
admire courage Of all sorts. espe-
cially Daniels kind. The king and
everybody else knew that here
was a man who could be counted
on to say and to do what he was
convinced was right, even if it
hurt him,-even if it killed him.
Here was a man who could not be
threatened, could not be bought.
Such men were not plentiful then.
they are not thick as bla ckberries
now. But they are Gods men al
ways.
BASED on outlines copyrighted BY the
Division Of Christian Kdacaticr, Ma
tional Council % the Churches 81 Christ
In the U. s. A. Released by Com n unity
Press Service.}