Courage and Conviction

TOPICAL CHALLENGE FROM LICC:

The reason we talk about having the 'courage of our convictions' is because there are consequences that flow from those convictions - and not all of them happy ones.

This week, in an interview with The Times, George Bush reflected on his presidency and expressed regret that the rhetoric he used in regard to the Iraq war has created a legacy for him as 'a guy really anxious for war.' Had he known back then what he knows now, about the consequences of his language, he would have taken a different tone.

Hindsight, of course, is a wonderful thing. However, it's also, by definition, what's never available to you when you'd value it most. This makes the biblical insistence on counting the cost, and weighing the consequences of our actions at the outset a real pearl of practical wisdom (e.g. Luke 14:25-35).

You may or may not agree with the wisdom of David Davis's decision to stand down as an MP in order to stand up for his convictions in regard to civil liberties, but we can affirm that he does at least appear to have made his decision in full awareness and acceptance of the possible consequences. Having stated his intention to resign and force a by-election he went on to say, 'Now, that may mean I have made my last speech to the House.'

Indeed he might. For whilst there have been many voices of support for Mr Davis's 'brave' and 'principled' stand (though note the observation of the BBC's Nick Robinson that 'Courageous is code in Westminster for bonkers'), there's also been no shortage of more cynical responses - 'the stunt of a vain man' being but one example.

David Davis's decision was not a faith-based decision. Christian faith, however, if it is properly engaged with the whole of our lives as per the biblical vision, will inevitably lead us where we do not want to go - into times when we feel duty-bound to 'swim against the tide'. Jesus had warned the apostles that the world would hate them on account of their conviction about him (John 15:18-25). Accordingly, in Jerusalem they were flogged for having the courage of their convictions (Acts 5:40). The nature of the consequences we must embrace in taking a stand for Christ might not be so barbaric, but that doesn't mean the experience of them will be any more pleasant. Nevertheless, Christ invites us to mould our legacy as faithful followers as we live, rather than look back regretfully over a life less extraordinary.

Nigel Hopper LICC