Courage – Developing a Godly Character, part 2
Posted by aaronjen | Filed under Books, Theology
Bill Hybels is spot on in suggesting that people need to work on courage as part of their character, especially Christians (Ch 2, Who You Are When No One’s Looking). In the section ‘Courage to Be Vulnerable’, he writes that in order to become a Christian, one must have courage to own up to their sins before a holy God, but not only that, being a Christian takes courage, to be openly repentant when we slip up (p15-16). I think this is a very important point, and something that we so often fail to do as the Church. I sometimes wonder if our model of Christianity is just a way of masking our sins behind judgmental attitudes. I’d love to write a book on ecclesiology sometime and call it, Naked and Unashamed, and maybe subtitle it: Who You Are When Everyone’s Watching. I think we really need to restore true accountability into Christian living (ie ‘transparency, authenticity, and brutal honesty’ – see very good article by Mike Foster) and get away from our individualism, only being accountable for the easy stuff, or else becoming better liars.
Really, my only gripe with this chapter comes with the personal examples Hybels provides. I think it takes far mare courage to admit our sinful tendencies and open ourselves up for correction and seek forgiveness, than it does to learn to drive a semi-trailer, fly a plane, and sail a boat (p19-20). Again he seems to be talking outside my level of understanding - I don’t need to be a thrill seeker to have courage, nor the financial means to do so. I wish he would’ve come up with some better examples because I think it takes any action points in having courage in our own lives into the direction of thrill-seeking or bettering our social statuses, rather than truly be open and vulnerable. - JRR
Tags: accountability, Bill Hybels, character, courage, Who You are When No One's Looking
