How to Die Standing Up
In the wild and lawless early days of the Old West, a man’s true riches amounted to the friendships he had with other men. In a land so sparsely populated, and with the enemies of weather, finding food, and attack so constant, survival often depended on your number of friends. And how willing they’d be to stand alongside you in a fight or even die for you standing up.
Men who had such courage acted square, meaning with courage and integrity. Or they might say man had sand, that is, grit, determination, drive. But one of my favorite descriptions denoted a man who “knows how to die standing up.”
Best Kind of Friend
This was a friend who would face the battle with you. He wouldn’t cower behind the building until the fight ended. Not like Sheriff John Behan did at the shootout on Fremont Street in Tombstone when the Clantons and McLaurys met the Earps and Doc Holiday.
No, a man who knows how to die standing up would take his chances with you. He could be counted on to offer his best effort up to his dying breath.
Facing an Enemy
Most of us will never be out on the dusty streets of a boomtown facing down villains. But we’re going to have times where the enemy seems just as evil, overpowering, and unstoppable.
It might be when we face financial ruin. Or we experience tragedy and sorrow such as a fatal disease, destruction of family, or demonic attacks on a neighborhood, town, or church. That’s when we need friends who will stand with us. And when they enter a battle, we need to be the ones who know how to die standing up.
Jesus Said It This Way
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
I take that literal. I think it’s time to get serious with this passage and start aiming for that ‘greater love.’ Most of us balk to sacrifice a hundred bucks or a Saturday for a friend, let alone our reputation, job security, or our lives on the line. We practice learning how to die standing up for others.
We probably won’t become all that courageous overnight. But at least we could being by ceasing to say, “Good luck! I hope it all works out!” And say instead, “I’ll be right over. What can I do to help?”
Stephen Bly
Circa 1996
Cowboy Standing Silhouette Image by Xoán Carballo from Pixabay
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WESTERN WISDOM “How To Die Standing Up” audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
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