Being bold

Boldness is generally thought of in fairly macho terms....for example:

• he boldly faced a tough adversary
• he boldly fought a formidable foe
• he put up a bold fight to the medical issues he was facing
• etc

In thinking of boldness in purely macho terms, we may be limiting ourselves.  We may also be unknowingly be putting a damper on things we can do to help others.  Fear is what often stops our being bold, especially when it comes to our interactions with others.  Boldness is a characteristic we can all perhaps try to grow within us.  Not the kind of boldness that will make us fight fights we shouldn't get into in the first place, but the boldness that will give us the ability to take that next step to provide help in interpersonal relationships.

Case in point....when I was in the complete darkness, a man much younger than I did the unthinkable (to many) with me.  He challenged me right out of the blue to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  And much later on, after I had chucked it all to return to the darkness for a few long years, my daughter took some bold steps to get me back into the fold.  In both cases it was obviously God's hand involved, but He used those folks to get to me.  They boldly followed His leadings.  They stepped out of their comfort zones and came at me with a bold "I don't care what he thinks of me...I'm gonna do it" attitude.  And because of their boldness, the rest is history....good history.

Us men aren't always as bold as we think we are, and perhaps not as much as we want to be.  It takes boldness to be the father that will provide a tough love discipline to a child that needs that kind of discipline.  It takes boldness to continue to keep faith when we are getting the crap beat out of us in our personal lives.  It takes boldness to challenge another man when we see that his spiritual life is in need of help.  It takes boldness to speak up for the good when we see unfair and unjust treatment of another.  And, it takes boldness to carry the message of Jesus to others...especially to those we don't know. 

How is your boldness meter?  Does fear get in the way of your boldness? 

Be bold, my friend....someone's life may depend on it.  Mine did.