Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street. Last month, a Christian rapper named Hulvi, scheduled to perform to a sold-out crowd in Amsterdam, abruptly canceled his show just an hour before he was to take stage. Ticket sales for his show had gone so fast that organizers were forced to move it to a larger venue.
However, when Hulvi arrived for the show, he discovered that there were sexually explicit images all over the walls of the auditorium. Among the fans that were already in line for the show were families with children. An article in Charisma magazine reported what happened. According to Holvie, venue staff would cover one side of the bar, but refused to cover the images on the walls. With children's exposure to the material still unresolved, he called off the performance.
He then stepped outside to explain the decision to concert goers waiting in the rain. He apologized, prayed with them, thanked God for purity and forgiveness. Fans responded with support.
Well, several local churches and other venues also offered their support, as well as some alternative sites for the concert. And the courageous stand gained the artist international attention. But that's not what seemed to have motivated Holvey. He said, "I stand for Jesus only. If that costs me a show, who cares?
Because I answer to Him." God took a canceled show and ended up making it way more than I could have imagined. Not all stories of courage have that happy ending, of course. For example, on October the 13th, half of a high school girls' cross country team in the state of Washington chose to forfeit a race rather than compete against a boy who claimed to be a girl. The injustice was flagrant, as described by the Alliance Defending Freedom, who represents many female athletes who have faced similar choices. On September the fifth, this male athlete ran a boys' junior varsity five thousand meter race and finished seventy sixth.
Later that month, he began to compete in girls' races. On September the twenty sixth, just three weeks later, he placed second in a girls' junior varsity race, finishing ahead of one hundred ninety three girls. Then three days later, he won a girl's varsity race. As Kristen Waggoner, the CEO and general counsel of ADF, pointed out, the cost of their courage is made higher by adults who are unwilling to do the right thing. She posted this on X.
The cowardice of adults has forced young girls to lead the way back to reality and common sense, but it shouldn't have fallen to them. I couldn't be prouder of their courage. We'll keep fighting until we win back women's sports everywhere. Among the many words in contemporary discourse that are in need of careful definition, courage and bravery are moving to the top. What's called courageous and brave these days is anything but.
Celebrities are often called brave when they parrot or post the latest progressive orthodoxy, though they have risked precisely nothing. Bookstores attempt courage by having a shelf dedicated to so-called banned books, from which they will profit by selling to customers who may freely take, buy, and read them. Christian bloggers and influencers are called brave when they deconstruct. Though by announcing it, they're often guaranteed interviews and followers. Churches and denominations, quote unquote, courageously reject their doctrinal statements when cultural winds blow them in that direction.
None of those acts are courageous. Courage costs us something. Courage risks our reputation, revenue, fans, in order to protect children. Bravery is walking out on the immediate opportunity to compete in order to make a longer-term point about fairness and identity. Courage is making the choice to not prioritize your happiness in order to do the right thing, especially for the good of others.
Thank God for these young people who demonstrate the kind of courage that we can all admire and emulate. For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with Breakpoint. Today's Breakpoint was co-authored with Dr. Timothy Paget. If you're a fan of Breakpoint, please leave us a review wherever you download your podcast.
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