Courage and Ethics by Pastor Evan Mawarire


December 1, 2016

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WASHINGTON, DC – If you could imagine the colour of courage what would it be? An aggressive red? A solid black or maybe a fiery orange. If you could imagine courage as an animal what would you see? A majestic lion? A ferocious bear or maybe the unflinching water buffalo. Each of those colours and animals is what you would ordinarily expect courage to look like or to behave like. And yet the most inspiring acts and expressions of true courage come in forms and shades that most of us would probably never recognise. That’s because courage and indeed ethics are not about being the loudest or strongest. They’re always about a passion to stand for something you deeply believe in so much that you’re often left with no choice to sacrifice life and limb for.

My name is Evan Mawarire, I am a husband, a father, a pastor and an ordinary citizen of the nation of Zimbabwe. Earlier this year I did something that has turned my entire world upside down but has started to turn my nation right side up. I did something that I never thought I would ever do in my lifetime. I stood up. I stood up to a regime that has allowed corruption, injustice and poverty to ruin the lives of my countrymen and to snuff out whatever chance the most vulnerable of our society had to be something. My government responded by arresting me and charging me with attempting to subvert a constitutionally elected government. Whilst locked up my family and I were threatened with rape, death and unspecified torture. However because of my actions, I saw the miracle of oppressed citizens standing up to injustice. I have nothing to my name in terms of resources and possessions, I am not an elected official neither am I a well to do businessman. I am just another downtrodden and discarded citizen of a nation whose condition is so depressing to discuss that talking about the weather would be a more inspirational subject to dwell on. I come from a country where true heroes are few and loathed yet villains are many and celebrated.

Courage what is it? Is it just a definition or a character trait? Is it just an outward appearance of confidence? Is it intentionally doing something dangerous and living to tell the story? No, not in my books. Here is my definition, Courage is the small voice inside us, that against all of our risk averse judgement, convinces us to take something head on, to not give up even when the odds are stacked heavily against us. If danger were a raging river, then courage would not be a bridge that goes over, but a boat that sails through. Courage is the still small voice that says, “Face it, see it through and be free of its threat”.

Courage is not just winning against an enemy; rather it is about standing up to face the enemy. Whether we win or lose after the fight, is immaterial to the fact that we stood up and we stood firmly on the rock solid foundation of our conviction and not the wobbly stilts of our preferences.

An Ethical life means that one must have values on which their worldview is permanently founded. For me ethics are not just about honesty being the best policy although that is an important aspect of it. They are more about cultivating a consistent standard of doing things particularly with transparency and with honour. Here are 8 pointers about ethics that will help you frame your journey towards a more ethical life.

1. True and good ethics are founded on deeply entrenched personal values instead of trends of the moment. Your value system will always determine the calibre of your ethics. Values will also offer the backbone of consistency to your every ethical stand.

2. Sustainable strong ethics are nurtured over time just as one nurtures a small seed that eventually grows into a strong deep-rooted tree. When the gardener nurtured the seed into a tree, he found that the tree had been growing him all along. So it is with ethics, they grow those who nurture them.

3. Ethics will hold you in good stead even when talent or chance has led you into the limelight. Some people are nothing without their talent. Ethics create a weighty individual of substance.

4. Ethics are the anchor that holds you in place when the storms shake your world. Storms and life go together like ships and seas like mac and cheese or bangers and mash. Storms are almost always on the menu of life and what matters is not that we avoid them but that we weather them.

5. Ethics are a not a gift that one is born with but a personal choice that one must make a commitment to. We must always choose to do what is right so that we remain responsible for our actions whether the outcome is good or bad.

6. You’re always better off losing on an ethics ticket than winning on a crooked one. When we put winning ahead ethics, we often give up the opportunity to practice the rare virtues of truth, kindness, compassion and empathy. Contrary to popular belief, winning is not everything, ethics are.

7. Ethics are a fence of protection around your character. Your character is one of the most valuable things you possess. My good Bible teaches me that a good name is better to be chosen than riches. You will build many things in life but the most valuable of all you build will be your character.

8. Ethics are the bedrock of leaving a positive legacy. One day when you are long gone dead and buried, it is the ethics that you espoused as you lived life that will either throw a negative shadow or a positive light on your record of life.

Our world today is in dire need of courageous and ethical men and women. Those who amidst the enticing blaring lights of fame, glory and abuse of self can still hear the small voice that says do it. Do it because you care, do it because it’s the right thing to do.

Although we can learn and discuss ethics, they’re nothing and meaningless until we live them out in our everyday lives.

 

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