The Wizard of Oz and a Lesson in Courage

As a child, I remember watching The Wizard of Oz and being perplexed by Dorothy’s friends as they each sought a heart, a brain, and courage. Like most children watching the film, I didn’t realize the profound message behind it. However, when the Wizard of Oz tells the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Lion, that the power to love, to think, and to be courageous are already within us, he is reminding us of a long held truth. A truth that reminds us that God has provided each of us with the capacity to think, to love, and to be courageous. In today’s world, we need all three of these abilities to survive amidst questions of uncertainty and times of great need. Although the human capacity to think and to love receives great consideration by theologians and philosophers, I believe it is humanity’s ability to be courageous that demonstrates the absolute beauty of what God has created.

To witness courage, we need only look to the people of Tunisia, Libya, or Egypt, to understand the power of courage in the face of adversity. Watching the news reports coming out of Libya over the past week, I remain in awe over the great strength that the people seeking freedom from an oppressor have demonstrated. Much like the great Christian martyrs facing an all but certain death, the people of Libya looked into the eyes of oppression and refused to deny what they knew to be true. In Hebrews 13:6 it states “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” As the people of Tunisia and Libya took to the streets of their respective homelands, we can only wonder whether a similar statement ran through their minds.

Although human events similar to those in North Africa and the Middle East provide powerful examples of human will and strength, we need only look around us to see how courage lives among us everyday. By merely living our faith in today’s world, we are being courageous. It is in being a witness to the power of faith that we come to “fear no evil” for we know that God is always with us (Ps. 23). Further, we are reminded of the great relationship between our abilities to think, love, and be courageous by St. Paul when he writes, “Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:13). As an observer, watching the people of Tunisia and Libya take to the streets it appears that they did such not for power or money, but rather for a love of their homeland and their families. Christ tells us “In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world” (Jn. 16:33).

Christ conquered the world by his love and continues to reach hearts, minds, and souls throughout the world as we live out our God-given abilities to love, to think, and to be courageous. Every day, we awaken to a world that is in need of love and humanity’s ability to think towards peace, but we are in equal need of courage. In the words of Reinhold Niebuhr we pray, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” For when David faced Goliath, the God he knew in his heart and mind provided him the courage to defeat the giant. In our world today, we face giants everyday, but if we remain true to the God of our hearts and minds, we will have the courage needed to face all adversity and to conquer hearts for God’s kingdom. In this experience, perhaps we will find our own Yellow Brick Road towards a deeper relationship with Christ.