Work and Courage

Scott Peck says that the primary elements of love are work and courage. I believe this is true. Jesus was always working and it seemed the crowds exhausted him to the point of needing to "get away from it all". We also know that Jesus faced the temptation to ditch the cross and that it took Him courage to face the deep penalty that awaited such a perfect man.

In our daily lives, I think of raising children as a perfect example of work and courage. The baby wakes up in the middle of the night, crying because she is hungry. Mom doesn't think about herself but wakes up and feeds the child. Dad is tired from a long day of work, but his 9 year old wants to play catch outside. After a few moments of rest, father and son play baseball. Raising children takes work. It also takes courage. Parents send their children to school or to the neighbors next door to play, even though they know their kids will have to face all difficulties and struggles that they dealt with in their own youth. They know their kids will get hurt from time to time, both physically and emotionally. They also know, however, that it is more loving to send them out into the world, because the joys of close friendships and growing into maturity outweigh the difficulties they will face.

Work and courage. These are the key aspects of love. They can also be misused and misunderstood as a means to justify ourselves. I think of the stereotypical husband, for example, who does chores all around the house on a weekend and expects a whole bunch of praise from his wife during and after his accomplishments. The whole time he's working, he's expecting to gain her approval. A mature wife, however, already approved of him in the first place. She loves him. So, he's spending all this time trying to gain the approval his wife already had given him.

Essentially, this is what we do with God. We work and try our hand at courageous acts in order to please God, when He's already pleased with us in the first place. You might ask why work or be corageous in the first place? Frankly, I don't have a direct answer to this question. All I know is that life seems to be more enjoyable when we love God and others through work and courage. The Westminster Confession of Faith says that the chief aim of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Work, courage, enjoyment, and God's glory all seem to be intertwined. The main point is not to get the order confused. His love for us comes first.