Standing up for your principles.

“When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith.” ~ Abraham Kuyper …

It can be hard to always follow what we know to be true. Sometimes it means being laughed at… sometimes it means financial loss… and sometimes it brings with it an unwanted form of hardship. But being true to our principles is what offers us our peace. Without doing so, our character and integrity will falter, and our peace in life will fail us. It is in these times, that Abraham implores us to go into battle, to fight for our beliefs, and to be true to ourselves “with all the fire of our faith.”

However, the line between conviction and stubbornness seems to blur all the time. We often see someone standing for what they believe in less as a sign of strong character and more as a sign of close-mindedness. So how are we best able to discern the difference between the two? The answer lies in recognizing what is truly the truth, and what is merely something that we currently believe–something that is subject to change.

An inspirational story of personal conviction is that of Rachel Joy Scott–the first victim of the Columbine High School Massacre. Reports said that one of the gunmen, after having first shot Rachel in her leg, picked her up by her hair and asked her if she still believed in God, and that she had answered, “You know I do.” Her response provoked a second, fatal shot to her head at point-blank range. The thing to note is that she stood up for what she knew was true in her heart–a quality of a person with conviction, and not a sign of close-mindedness or stubbornness.

Our convictions are strongest when we have doubt, yet overcome that doubt. I would even go further and say that they are strongest when we have fear, yet overcome the fear–for being afraid of the results of standing up for what you believe in, and doing so in spite of those results, is an absolute sign of fortitude, integrity, and strength of will.

What am I willing to stand up for? On the day I die, I have a feeling that I will be more concerned about the things that I stood up for than about the things that held little interest in.

Reclaim some internal peace today by standing up for your principles.

Questions to consider:

What are some of your personal truths that have changed over time?

In what ways can being a man of principle affect the peace in your life?

If you had a major ethical dilemma at work, could you leave your job even if it meant significant financial loss?

For further thought:

“The relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means an antagonistic one. Commitment is healthiest when it is not without doubt, but in spite of doubt.” ~ Rollo May