In the 1930s, Churchill was upset at his fellow Parliamentarians for looking the other way as the Nazis consolidated their power. As he looked over the political landscape, his own Conservative Party consisted of appeasers, and the opposing Labour Party was pacifist. Confronting this cowardice, Churchill addressed the House of Commons with a story from his childhood: “When I was a child, my nanny used to take me every May to the Barnum and Bailey Circus. But there was one sideshow I was never allowed to look at. She said, ‘Winston, it is too revolting a spectacle for the human eye.’ It was called ‘The Boneless Wonder.’ And now, after all these years, where do I finally see this freak show? Not in a circus but in the House of Commons and all around me—‘The Boneless Wonders.’”

The temptation to cowardice is a clear and present danger in every generation. We are all capable of being “boneless wonders” in the face of death, physical harm, loneliness, conflict, rejection, and financial loss. Faced with a cancel culture, faced with charges of bigotry, faced with having to say “no” to people we love or seek to love—we would rather sit down than stand up. Too many Christians are showing undue fear in defending the gospel, exposing evil, and standing up for what is right (cf. Psa. 78:9).

While we are all capable of growing weak at the knees in the face of overwhelming circumstances or vicious enemies, cowardice as a way of life is a deadly and damning thing. In Revelation 21:8, we find a list of eight groups of people who are sent to hell, and the very first group mentioned is “the cowardly.” In terms of sins, it would not be at the top of our list. But, if you think about it, cowardice is a mother sin, in that it gives birth to other sins. Cowardice made Abraham lie to Pharoah about his wife; pushed Aaron into idolatry with the golden calf; drove the ten spies to give a bad report about the Promised Land; caused Elijah to run from the threats of Jezebel. Cowardice makes us run when we should stand, remain silent when we should speak. Married to unbelief, it spawns disobedience, which is deadly serious (cf. Matt. 10:28–33).

Cowardice is deadly and damning, but it can be defeated. The remedy to fearing man is fearing God (Job 4:6; Psa. 19:9; Prov. 14:27; Matt. 10:28). A view of God proportionate to the greatness and glory of the God of heaven and earth shrinks our fears, clarifies the puniness of man, and points to the vanity of life. In going back to our examples of cowardice, we need to remember that it was the fear of God that made Abraham obey the Lord and offer up his son Isaac. It was the fear of God that enabled Aaron to stand before Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelites. It was the fear of God that gave two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, the faith to believe in victory over the Canaanites. And it was the fear of God that empowered Elijah to stand before King Ahab.

Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the presence of the right fear. Courage doesn’t mean we are oblivious to danger. It simply means we are more conscious of God than man. God keep us from being “boneless wonders.” God make us fearless in His fear.