A Commitment Not to Govern by Fear, but by Courage and Principle

As a Christian, I believe Scripture is clear that we are not called to be governed by fear.

Fear is part of the human experience. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the refusal to allow fear to determine our judgment, our conduct, or how we regard our neighbors.

I carry a reminder of that principle with me every day. Tattooed on my arm is Joshua 1:9, a passage that has particular meaning to me because I was named for the Joshua to whom those words were spoken:

“Behold I command thee, take courage, and be strong. Fear not and be not dismayed: because the Lord thy God is with thee in all things wherever thou shalt go to.”

I have always understood those words as a call to steadiness in the face of uncertainty and courage in the face of difficulty.

Scripture returns to that principle in 2 Timothy 1:7, where Paul writes that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

Those words remind me that the answer to fear is not anger, suspicion, or contempt. It is courage tempered by love and disciplined by sound judgment.

Jesus placed love at the center of our obligations. In Matthew 22:37–40, when asked which commandment was the greatest, He answered:

“Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

For me, that command does not cease to matter when my neighbor believes differently than I do. If anything, that is when its meaning is tested.

That conviction also informs my understanding of public service.

Sargent Shriver once observed that “separation of Church and State does not mean the divorce of spiritual values from secular affairs.”

I believe that distinction is essential.

Our Constitution prevents government from establishing religion or compelling matters of conscience. But it does not require a person entering public service to abandon the convictions that shape his understanding of duty, dignity, justice, mercy, and service.

Faith may inform how I serve. It must never become an excuse to impose my faith upon another citizen or deny that citizen the liberties our Constitution guarantees.

And that is where courage becomes especially important.

Government has a responsibility to confront genuine threats and protect the public. Prudence is not fear. But leadership requires the judgment to distinguish between a genuine threat and a convenient object of suspicion, between the actions of an individual and assumptions about an entire group, and between protecting our liberties and surrendering them because we are afraid.

As a candidate for the Arkansas State Senate, I believe fear should never determine whose constitutional rights I am willing to defend.

Joshua 1:9 reminds me to be strong and courageous.

2 Timothy 1:7 reminds me that courage should be accompanied by love and self-control.

Matthew 22:37–40 reminds me that I am commanded to love my neighbor as myself.

And the Constitution reminds me that the liberties I claim for myself must also belong to my neighbor.

My unwillingness to be governed by fear is foundational to my Constitutional Commitment to Religious Freedom. It is why I believe Christians, Muslims, Jews, people of every other faith, and those of no faith must stand as equal citizens before their government—and why I will defend for my neighbor every constitutional liberty I claim for myself.

With respect for all Arkansans,

Joshua Irby

Paid for by Joshua Irby