Philosophers Lakoff and Johnson believe moral strength comes in two flavors: having the strength to resist external evils and having enough willpower to resist internal evils such as physical temptations. Many people make no attempt to resist internal desires, and in fact some conduct their lives to satisfy them. The notion of resisting evil is a key message of many religions, whose principal figures may well have faced evil in many forms and had the moral strength to achieve victory over it.
Group pressure often encourages human beings to comply with a particular course of action. Sometimes, this compliance may include immoral acts. Deep inside, a conforming individual may have nagging concerns about his acquiescence to behave immorally. An individual with sufficient reserves of moral strength may be able to challenge the group decision by raising objections, leaving the group or even taking action to prevent the group from committing immoral acts.
Moral strength is often characterized by consistency, which means staying true to your beliefs. Many situations in life present challenges to a person's moral strength. A person who is certain her moral beliefs are correct must live by these beliefs to maintain moral consistency. Someone who claims to believe in a life of high moral values but whose behavior indicates otherwise is acting inconsistently --- often a sign of a lack of moral strength.
According to Franklin Graham, president and CEO of an international relief organization, Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005, was a model of moral strength. Graham asserts the former pontiff's fortitude, forged in Nazi-occupied Europe, was key to his instinctive goodness. Fortitude in the face of evil represents a chance for ultimate moral victory. Further, moral strength may be characterized by nonconformity and having the strength of character to stand up for what you believe in.