The Allure of Cowardice

A great American poet once sang:

"I'm not a coward I just never been tested
I like to think that if I was I would pass
Look at the tested and think there but for grace go I
Might be a coward I'm just afraid of what I might find out"

Ok, maybe the Mighty Mighty Bosstones aren't exactly what you think of when I read "great American poet," but hey, me still likes the ska, and besides, the tune takes me back to high school. Moreover, this is the lyric that comes to mind whenever I reflect on the Costa Concordia disaster and the cowardice of her fleeing captain.

From his cringe-inducing dialogue with the Italian Coast Guard to eye-witness reports, it looks like Captain Francesco Schettino was tested and did not pass. His cowardice was shameful in and of itself and all the more so if it cost additional lives. His actions are deplorable, and we can all hope that he'll face the appropriate legal and professional consequences. Yet, as we rush to condemn, joke, or muster up talk-show host outrage, we should keep in mind that we may one day be tested as well. We should be careful with our judgments.

Cowardice is an ugly vice, especially when we look at it from the outside. But when we face the choice between self-preservation and self-sacrifice, self-preservation can look smart, wise and even beautiful. Have you ever been in that situation? I know I have. Nothing as dramatic as a sinking boat, of course. It could be as benign as lying to a colleague or a family member to hide your own mistakes, or avoiding confrontation someone who is stronger than you. Even when it means refusing to do what's right, it's alluring to protect body, dignity and reputation. The boat begins to shift and break and suddenly the lifeboat makes more sense than all those things we learned in Sunday School. Like most everything else we call sin, it's ugly, but in some perverse place that's very natural to us, it's understandable.

Of course, I know some people who are naturally courageous. They make the best sea captains and soldiers, police officers and pastors, not to mention any other career that involves confrontation and risk. If this describes you, then know that I envy you. C.S. Lewis wrote somewhere that courage is the virtue that enables all of the other virtues. You have a shorter path to self-sacrificial love. For the rest of us, the Costa Concordia tragedy is a call for reflection: what would we have done? Would we have elbowed aside the old and the young for a place in the lifeboats? Or would we have risked our necks so that others wouldn't have had to? More to the point, are we avoiding commitments, confrontation, responsibility or love out of fear, and what can we do to overcome this?

I have a few ideas. First, be honest with yourself. I'm an expert at rationalization. It's not good to allow cowardice to hide behind intellect. The truth is our friend, and the sooner we look it in the eye (an act of courage itself, albeit a private one), the better.

Second, friendship is a great help here. I know most guys have a story from school or university where, having confessed our fears to ask a girl out, our friends egg us on and encourage us to make the step. The same thing can happen with any of the circumstances I described earlier. Have safe friends where, between beers and laughs, you can talk about the places where fear has us trapped. Cowardice is weaker against numbers.

Finally, Christianity has a great thing called repentance. If we've given in to cowardice, sometimes it's too late to undo it. Other times, we just can't go through with what we ought to do due to fear. In both instances, we can take frightened hearts to the Cross of Christ. There's a great old hymn called "Rock of Ages," where the choir sings to Christ to "be of sin the double cure, cleanse me from it's guilt and power." If cowardice is too big to crawl out of on your own strength, well, Jesus died on the cross to break sin's power over us. You can confess your sins to Jesus, and he will help you grow in courage. Second, if the guilt of a cowardly act is stuck in your soul like a bee sting, well, Jesus died on the cross to take our guilt as well. Repent and believe the Good News, follow him, and grow in courage. After all, if sacrificial love is the most excellent example is courage, then what is more courageous than the cross?