Clarity and Courage

Clarity and courage go hand-in-hand.

A pilot needs courage to fly a plane, but he also needs a clear flight plan to give him direction.

A football player needs a clear game plan to follow, but he also needs the courage to take hard hits.

No matter how brave his heart, if a soldier doesn't understand his mission he will never succeed on the battlefield. Yet, no matter how well he comprehends his commander's instructions, a soldier won't win in battle if he lacks courage to engage the enemy.

A preacher needs courage to speak God's Word plainly no matter how unpopular or counter-cultural the message might be.

Courage without clarity is foolishness. Clarity without courage is cowardice.

Disaster will occur if you haven't done your homework but blunder ahead anyway. And the results will be equally disastrous if you know what to do but you're too afraid to try.

Jesus was clear about his purpose. He understood why he was here and what he needed to do. And he had the courage to carry out his mission no matter what—even at the cost of the cross.

Clarity and Courage in Action

We need clarity and courage in our prayers. Peter wrote, "Be clear minded and self-controlled so you can pray" (1 Peter 4:7). The early Christians also asked God for boldness to speak his Word fearlessly (Acts 4:29; Ephesians 6:19, 20). We need to pray for wisdom, and then once God's direction is clear, we should ask him for courage to act.

We need clarity and courage in our leadership. "Be strong and courageous," the Lord told Joshua. But to lead well, Joshua needed more than courage; he also needed direction. So the Lord added, "Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth" (Joshua 1:6, 8). When making tough decisions, leaders must seek as much clarity as possible, and then move forward boldly even in the face of misunderstanding, criticism, and hardship.

We also need clarity and courage in order to be sexually pure. It's an understatement to say that our culture lacks moral clarity. "Values free" education at school, an "anything goes" attitude in popular media, and silence about healthy sexuality at home and church result in fuzzy thinking. When parents and preachers don't speak clearly and persuasively about healthy sexual values, unwholesome influences quickly fill the void. We need to speak where the Bible speaks and be clear about what's right and wrong.

But clarity is only part of the picture. We also need the courage to do the right thing. Moral courage made Joseph flee from the advances of Potiphar's seductive wife. Moral courage moves a Christian man to install accountability software on his computer so he will not view pornography. It makes a Christian woman remain faithful to her husband even when friends advise her to dump him and move on. It motivates a teen to preserve her virginity.

"Flee from sexual immorality," the Bible says (1 Corinthians 6:18). That's clear enough. Let's find the courage to do it.