The final virtue--fortitude

The final cardinal virtue pointed out by C.S. Lewis is fortitude. We don’t hear it much any more; it’s such a quaint word. But he says it means the ability to face danger as well as hang in there when pain comes. Lewis believes this is a crucial virtue because we need this one in order to practice the other three which I covered in previous blogs.

Whenever I think of fortitude/bravery, I think about one particular individual--Ernest Shackleton. He was putting together an expedition to the Antarctic, and he supposedly placed this ad:

“Wanted. Men for hazardous journey. Low wages. Bitter cold. Long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in the event of success.”

The expedition went on to face a terrible ordeal when the ship was caught in the ice and crushed. Shackleton never gave in to despair, his men fought the elements, and they triumphed in the end. You have to read an account of this amazing saga.

But there are others who demonstrated fortitude. Think of George Washington as his army faced the best troops in the world, Martin Luther King taking on Southern hostility, David squaring off with Goliath, the Spartans at Thermopylae, Americans staring out at a huge Mexican army at the Alamo, Rosa Parks as she refused to move to the back of the bus, Winston Churchill standing up to the attacks of Adolph Hitler.

Contrast this with today’s Americans. We ask our politicians to protect us throughout our lives, we hesitate to boldly proclaim the truth of Christianity, we turn to drugs (prescriptions or on the streets) to lessen the pain whether real or imaginary, we kill ourselves to deal with our problems, we drop out of school when the classes become difficult, we blame others for our shortcomings because that’s easier than changing ourselves.

We all need to practice small acts of fortitude daily, read of those who have performed with fortitude, and ask God for the courage to handle all that life throws our way. It was Jesus who said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”