By Jeff Watson

During March, millions celebrate the valor of a young woman in ancient Iran; 25 centuries ago, Queen Esther puts her life on the line by urging King Xerxes to halt Haman’s murderous scheme.

Nudging her to intervene, Esther’s uncle Mordecai connects the dots in God’s plan: “Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

Convinced that a confrontation could cost her everything, Esther blossoms with bravery: “Fast for me,” she tells her uncle. “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law; . . . if I perish, I perish.”

Do the right thing
To quote one of my favorite veterans, “Courage is doing the right thing under pressure!” Andy Allen should know, having gone ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day plus six—earning two bronze stars, two silver stars, and three purple hearts before V-E Day. Like Andy, Esther models courage when she does the right thing in the face of withering pressure.

Reaching deep into her faith, Esther embraces the sentiment of the psalmist: “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth…He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep . . . both now and forevermore.”

If we convened a symposium on courage, Solzhenitsyn might warn us to police our own character: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor . . . classes, nor . . . parties . . . , but right through the human heart.”

Nodding in agreement, Edmund Burke could critique our penchant for apathy: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Speaking from the halls of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine would remind us: “Those who expect to reap the blessings of liberty must undergo the fatigues of supporting it.”