The American philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, wrote, “What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.” Many today are caught between regrets of the past or anxieties for the future, but few, it seems, understand the importance of today.
One person is gripped with former decisions or actions that have led to hurt, failure, or embarrassment. Another person cannot move at all as the future is filled with dangers, fear, or uncertainty. The person we most want to be sets aside the possibilities of fear and failure.
It is inspiring to witness those who live boldly in the moment. In 1910, then former president Theodore Roosevelt gave one of his most influential speeches entitled, “Citizenship in a Republic,” also known as, “The Man in the Arena.” Here is an excerpt.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
No one wants to be called cowardly. We may say one is weak, a quitter, a deserter, or the childish, a scaredy-cat or chicken. Yet our lack of boldness, resolve, and more importantly action, often tells the truer story. Years ago, a sad report of the rape and murder of Kitty Geneovese surfaced in the New York Times. In it, it was alleged that numerous people witnessed the crime yet did nothing to intervene. Although the article has been criticized for inaccuracies, subsequent studies of the “Bystander effect” have emerged. In short, it is purported that the more people who witness a crime, the less likely they will involve themselves in corrective action.
Sadly, it doesn’t have to be a crime. Indifference to human plight rings true across all spectrums of suffering. To be sure, we applaud nobility for those in the arena, but fewer seem inclined to personal involvement.
The simplest solution is this; we should love one another. Love incorporates sacrifice, justice, advocacy, and action, to name just a few. It may require boldness in the moment, but is it not better to die with meaning rather than live in apathy? Consider it.
We should love one another.
Kent Simmons is the pastor of Canyon Community Church in Kingman. He can be contacted at kent@canyon-church.com.