THE COURAGE TO LIVE

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 29, 1878

THE COURAGE TO LIVE.

We need not preach the courage to die—that is common enough—but the courage to live; to be honest in spite of poverty and neglect; to be true though all is dark except where God shines in; to be faithful, though heavens fall, and hearts break, and friendships turn to gall. Yes; we must teach men to dare to be unpopular, to be misapprehended, to be ahead of the times, to follow the voice of God though it leads into the wilderness, to tell the devil to his very face that he lies, and also to give him his dues—an act which requires the supremest courage at times.

I wouldn’t give a farthing for the triumphant faith of the death-hour, unless it comes from that triumphant faith that makes our life full of noblest daring, that is ready to fling aside honor, wealth, the praise of friends, rather than impair for one moment the soul’s integrity. Oh, for such a courage,—the courage to think, to act, to tell harsh truths, to overthrow splendid falsehoods, to disown sweet lies, and to banish tenderest associations rather than check in the least the free movements of the sovereign soul. We all must die with more or less equanimity, but we cannot live in the full splendor of our being except by courage and determined exertion.—The Guide.