Courage vs. Cowardice

The world has a very foggy idea of courage. The courage that used to be inside the patriarchal father has been removed and has been replaced with cowardice. Many believe that riding the fastest roller coaster or jumping from an airplane proves one’s courage. This is not a mark of bravery or courage, but is only daring (or in many cases - just stupidity). Now, I’m not saying that roller coasters or sky diving are wrong. In fact, I’d like to do these things. But let us be clear about the difference between courage and rashness.
For examples of true courage and heroism, I will turn to disasters on the sea. First, the Titanic was one of the greatest events of history that showed courage and bravery. Men who had heard the story of the Birkenhead (see below) and had been taught how to be chivalrous and courageous stood on the deck of a ship that would soon be plunged into the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean. They placed their children and wives into lifeboats and said good-bye to those whom they would never see again in this world. The water was very cold, and most of these noble men perished by freezing to death.
The second example of courage we find in the archives of history is found in the story of the Birkenhead Drill. The men on this ship were descendants of some of the greatest men in history. Their family trees included names such as Isaac the Bruce, William Wallace, and other glorious covenanters of Scotland. The Birkenhead, one of the grandest ships of its day, hit a rock off of Cape Fear in South Africa. The men drew up in military order as women and children boarded lifeboats. The ship sank twenty minutes after the Birkenhead struck the rock, but all of the women and children were saved in the lifeboats. Most of those noble men were eaten alive by sharks that were swimming in the water. However, not a single woman or child died!
Contrast these noble stories by a ship that showed great cowardice and selfishness, the La Bourgogne. This ship also began to sink, but instead of acting in a manly manner, the men and sailors began killing the women and children and leaping into the lifeboats to save their own miserable lives. Two hundred ninety-five men lived, while only one woman survived, and dozens of children perished. These French passengers were products of the pagan French Revolution.
Praise God that we are seeing Godly fathers and mothers raising up Godly sons with the qualities of nobility, selflessness and courage - even in the face of death!
J. Andrew