Courage

1 Timothy 1:7 - "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline."

I was chatting with my friend last week and I was sharing with her something that has been disturbing my heart for some time.

A month or two back, I was on my way back to my office after a home visit. At the corner of my eye, I could see this guy lifting his arm up. After awhile, I got curious and wondered what he was doing. I peeked and saw he was snapping photos of the lady in front of him. Mind you.. The lady wasn't skimpily dressed. She was very decent and yes.. all covered. I glared at the guy and thereafter, he stopped. After which, I hesitated for a long time. I was hesitating - Should I go straight up to him and tell him what he's doing is not right? Or should I just mind my own business and stay put? I decided that I should leave the decision to the lady on what she wants to do. So I decided - Ok. Why not tell her? As I was about to move to tell the lady, she got up and got off the bus.

That was about say... between 3-5 minutes only...? Well.. To be VERY honest, I was grappled by the lack of courage. I didn't have the courage to do what was right at that point of time. I was afraid of the consequences. I was afraid of what I could be accused of.

Last night, I watched "The Lake House". It was a romantic show. Indeed, it was very romantic but what caught me was the scene where Sandra Bullock, a doctor, saw an accident. She dropped whatever she was doing immediately and ran straight out to where the accident took place. I thought to myself "Boy.. Was she courageous!!! I could never do that! I saw what was supposed to be a social issue yet I lack of the courage to do anything!". Well, I did shared with 2 friends about what I felt after the show. One replied "Well.. she reacted basically because that's her passion...". Another friend replied "Perhaps.. she knows what to do...".

Today in Hopekids, the kids were taught on doing what is right instead of doing what they want. When I went to the 2nd service, I was worshipping God and suddenly, that verse from 1 Tim 1:7 came to me. On closing after praise & worship, Michael said something about having courage to do what is right. Gosh.. Talk about God speaking to me. I think He really spoke to me! Yup.. What my friends said was right.. Perhaps Sandra Bullock reacted quickly because of her passion and her knowledge. Perhaps, I can also say "Aww... it's only a movie...". But ultimately, I guess I know myself - I AM lack of that courage to speak up.

- To set things right, I'm not trying to be a superhero. :) -