Courage to Do What is Right
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Last month, Christian rapper Hulvey, scheduled to perform to a sold-out crowd in Amsterdam, abruptly canceled his show, just an hour before he was to take the stage. Ticket sales for his show sold out so quickly that organizers moved it to a larger venue. However, when Hulvey arrived for the show, he discovered sexually explicit images all over the walls of the auditorium. Among the fans already in line for the show were families with children. An article in Charisma magazine reported what happened:
According to Hulvey, venue staff would cover one side of the bar but refused to cover the images on the walls. With children’s exposure to the material still unresolved, he called off the performance.
Hulvey then stepped outside to explain the decision to concertgoers waiting in the rain. He apologized and prayed with them, thanking God for purity and forgiveness. Fans responded with support.
Several local churches and other venues offered their support, as well as alternative sites, and the courageous stand gained the artist international attention. That’s not what seemed to have motivated Hulvey:
I stand for Jesus only. If that cost me a show, who cares? Who cares, ’cause I answer to Him . . . God took a canceled show and ended up making it way more than I could have imagined.
Not all stories of courage have this happy ending. For example, on Oct.13, half of the Camas High School (WA) girls' cross-country team chose to forfeit a race rather than compete against a boy who claimed to be a girl. The injustice was flagrant. As described by the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents other female athletes who have faced similar choices:
On Sept. 5, this male athlete ran a boys’ junior varsity 5,000-meter race and finished 76th. Later that month, he began competing in girls’ races. On Sept. 26, only three weeks later, he placed second in a girls’ junior varsity race, finishing ahead of 193 girls. Three days later, he won a girls’ varsity race.
As Kristen Waggoner, CEO and General Counsel of ADF, pointed out, the cost of their courage is made higher by adults unwilling to do the right thing. She posted this on X:
The cowardice of adults has forced young girls to lead the way back to reality and common sense. It shouldn’t have fallen to them. But I couldn’t be prouder of their courage. We’ll keep fighting until we win back women’s sports everywhere.
Among the many words in contemporary discourse in need of careful definition, “courage” and “bravery” are at the top of the list. What is called courageous or brave is anything but. Celebrities are called brave when they parrot or post the latest progressive orthodoxy, though they have risked precisely nothing. Bookstores attempt courage by having a shelf dedicated to “banned books,” from which they profit by selling to customers who may freely take, buy and read. Christian bloggers and influencers are called brave when they deconstruct, though by announcing it, they are often guaranteed interviews and followers. Churches and denominations “courageously” reject their doctrinal statements when cultural winds blow them in a different direction.
None of these acts are courageous. Courage is costly. Courage is risking reputation, revenue and fans to protect children. Bravery is walking out on the immediate opportunity to compete to make a longer-term point about fairness and identity. Courage is the choice not to prioritize your own happiness to do the right thing, especially for the good of others. Thank God for young people who demonstrate the kind of courage we can admire and emulate.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/PeopleImages
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.
