Courage and Confidence

Since I'm at home trying to recover from a stomach virus, I have a little more time to read and write today. So I would like to share a couple of articles this morning.

First, Tim Woodroof has written an excellent piece titled A Time for Courage for the Lookout Magazine. Here is an excerpt:

"If we are not very careful, we will find a way to practice a Christianity that requires no courage. A 'get along' brand of Christianity. A Christianity that involves no boldness, no daring. It is possible to so civilize faith, domesticate it, that its characteristic trait becomes politeness rather than courage, being nice rather than being brave. Armed with such a faith, we need never say 'No' to the world or cause offense or take a stand.

"And yet we are living in times that cry out for courageous faith, for the kind of bravery that causes us to live against the culture, to value things our culture does not cherish, to stand up for matters that matter to God. God has not called us to be pleasant. He has called us to be faithful. And there are times when faithfulness demands courage of us.

"So this week, choose courage. Risk a friendship by speaking about faith. Break a rule for compassion's sake. Have the broken and hurting and neglected stand up and then stand beside them. It's what Jesus would do. Brave Jesus."

The entire article can be found at www.lookoutmag.com/articles/culture.asp?id=1466.

In our local newspaper, syndicated business columnist Harvey Mackay has written "Self-Doubt Can be a Motivator to Success." He demonstrates how humility and confidence work together. Here is an excerpt:

"Never confuse confidence with arrogance.

"Confidence allows you to proceed with some reason to believe you will succeed. Arrogance prevents you from examining your decisions, and is almost always a recipe for disaster."

The entire article can be found at www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?articleID=20081116_46_E6_WillSm845240.

I hope you enjoy the articles.