Be Bold, Not Brash!

God’s calling me to step up and out with boldness. Oh the things He wants me to write about I wrestle with. I’m scared and I’m not sure how to approach some subjects. I don’t want to be a jerk, but I want to obey God. Do you wrestle with similar things in your life? How do we do both of those things when some things in life seem to contradict each other?

True Story Ahead

This morning before all the sand was out of my eyes, I had only written one sentence in my journal, “Good Morning, Lord!”

Then I heard a strong instruction.

“Be bold, not brash!”

Now, I’ve been challenged before by God to be bold. Here’s a just few of the ways He’s instructed me:

• Be Audacious.
• Be Daring.
• Dare to be Audacious.

This, my friends, has been a constant instruction in my life for a number of years.

But today’s message was different.

I sat quietly waiting to hear more. Nothing!

So I did like any writer would do, and I wrote down my instruction. Of course, I like post-it notes and so that pink post-it note was placed on my journal page today.

I’ve been pondering my instruction throughout the day.

I even listened to a portion of Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird on the way to my writer’s studio after work to help prepare me to write tonight. I keep hearing her words, “If you’re a writer you have a moral obligation…” She was writing about being real. Being bold.

I know God wants me to be bold in many ways, but He especially desires for me to be bold in my writing and speaking.

Now, I got curious why the word “brash.” Seriously, what is it about brash that God felt the need to tell me not to be that?

Curiosity is a talent of mine I think, so I got the big old red collegiate dictionary and looked up both “bold” and “brash.” Here’s what I discovered:

• To be bold one must show or require a fearless daring spirit.
• To be brash one is lacking restraint or discernment.

I may not be a mathematician, but tonight I did some math.

Both/And

The answer came through deduction.

God wants me to show a fearless and daring spirit, but with discernment.

Sometimes we think being bold means we can speak, write, or act any way we want. We’re fearless!

On the contrary, usually that just makes us jerks.

There are numerous things God wants me to write and speak about that I’m not so sure I’m ready to do. I used to think I was just afraid. Okay, I probably am, which is why I haven’t written about some things.

But tonight I’m really beginning to understand another perspective. Discernment is just as important as boldness.

Reminds me of God’s way of speaking the truth. Yes, we are to speak the truth…in love! (Ephesians 4:15).

Personally, I’ve always struggled when people just speak “truth” to someone and then say, “What? It’s the truth!”

“Yeah, well, you just trampled on that person’s heart and soul when you spoke the truth. Where’s the second half of that instruction? Where’s the love?”

God is in the business of a lot of both/and’s I’ve discovered.

Ecclesiastes chapter 3 is filled with both/and’s.

My 40 Days of Intentional Living was all about God’s both/ands: Embrace and Refrain from.

Truth and Love.

So while God wants me to share specific messages with boldness, He also wants me show discernment.

“Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19, HCSB).
“Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned” (Proverbs 5:2 NLT).

Challenge

I think God wants the same for you.

Where is God calling you to step out in fearlessness?

Where is He asking you to restrain yourself?

We don’t have to be jerks to be bold. Neither do we have to be so reserved or timid that we don’t act.

It’s a both/and my friends.

Be fearless in spirit and full of discernment.

Dare to be audacious with me! Dare to discern with me.

God has a plan for me and for you. Let’s choose to live His plan.

Be bold, not brash.