7. Courage!

Genesis “Stuff!": Love (Conviction) and Courage

Evil, chaos, Genesis…
Evil, chaos, Jesus…
Evil, chaos…

Martin Luther…
With whom the great eternal romance continues. Another of those culture and creation collision Genesis moments came when Luther acted on the courage of his convictions, thereby ushering in the Protestant Reformation. “Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen!” It takes conviction to say, “No!” and courage to say, “Yes!” He was later to write, “Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things we do not see” – or see things as they will be.

Courage: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty (Merriam-Webster).

Conviction: strong persuasion or belief (Merriam-Webster).

Reformation
Interestingly enough, Matthew Henry refers to Jesus’ purging of the temple as the “time of reformation.” Centuries later, Luther issues in the “second great reformation” with his The 95 Thesis, in part protesting against the sale of indulgences by the church—a 16th Century “purging”—resulting in the emergence of Protestantism.

Thesis 86 asks: “Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassius, build the basilica of St. Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own money?” Attributed to Johann Tetzel is this saying: “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.”

Matthew Henry continues: “Great corruptions in the church owe their rise to the love of money” (1 Tim 6:5,10).

The Once-ler: 
FROM THE LORAX, BY DR. SEUSS

I meant no harm. I most truly did not.
But I had to grow bigger. So bigger I got.

I biggered my factory. I biggered my roads.

I biggered my wagons. I biggered the loads
of the Thneeds I shipped out.
I was shipping them forth
to the South! To the East! To the West!
To the North!
I went right on biggering ... selling more Thneeds.

And I biggered my money, which everyone needs.



The Right Stuff
There is a thin line between “need” and “greed.” Driven by the courage of their convictions, Genesis thinkers can decipher between the two. A Genesis person is made of the “right stuff.”

From Happy Musings:

When needs are great,
Creativity soars.
Look out!

Or conversely, when greed is great, Creativity is devoured. Look out!

At this critical prologue juncture, the question begs itself: “What “stuff” was this Genesis person, Martin Luther, made of and how can we appropriate some of that same “stuff” for ourselves?” This Genesis stuff will continue to reveal itself as these pages unfold, with courage and conviction right at the top of the list.

“HATE IS EASY; LOVE TAKES COURAGE.”

As Maya Angelo so eloquently put it, “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”

Cyberspace Link: Maya captures this truth in a recitation of her inspirational poem: Still I Rise.