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I'll be honest, I'm a California girl through and through, and shortly after the Lord saved me, He began dealing with my arrogance of the culture I had been raised in. I would say what I thought when I thought it, after all, that was honesty. It's a different culture where I was raised, if you didn't like someone, you just told them...and that was 'okay.' Not everyone has to be friends, it was respected. Differences were embraced, almost idolized in the culture I grew up in.
The arrogance isn't a mentality of "I'm better than you so there." But rather, "I am who I am and you have to accept it or move on cause I don't care anyway."
But the Lord graciously began to work in my heart showing me (some things more quickly than others) that yes I am who I am, but part of who I am is sinful and needed a loving Savior to transform the depths of my soul. Not to fit a societal mold...but to be more like Christ.
I believe that part of the boldness that comes with that upbringing, led me into years of passivity as a believer. Now, I am NOT saying that being passive is bad, it can be right depending on the situation.
What I am being set free from is the misconception that all Christians should be doormats. We should not silently sit by in fear of acting in our society because of a deeply rooted fear of man, or for any other reason for that matter.
There will be times when God calls us to act.
When He does we must obey.
God called Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. He didn't just sit there in the middle of the desert waiting for the Lord to bring them to him. Rather, in the strength God provided, Moses acted mightily.
God called Joseph to be in a position of authority in Egypt during a famine. Joseph did not sit in prison idly. No, seeing the opportunity for release he took it.
God called Paul to take the gospel to the Gentiles (and Praise His Name, for I am one!). Paul didn't just stay in Damascus waiting for the Lord to drop some Gentiles in his lap. He went throughout the known world spreading the gospel of Christ to the gentiles.
I'm learning that although there are times when I most definitely could be perceived as a doormat, that label is okay if in receiving it I am honoring the Lord in what He has called me to do. I am also learning that there are times when I am called to speak out. When I am called to stand up for something because if I don't I may not be being a good steward of what the Lord has entrusted to my care.
Through the past six years that the Lord has been impressing this truth on my heart, He has shown me over and over that speaking up means speaking words tempered with grace and love.
Ephesians 4:15 says, "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ."
If I am in fact to speak words that give grace to those who hear me, my first position has to be one of fervent prayer. In fact, speaking the truth in love requires a tremendous amount of prayer.
We can trust in our Father to grant us the words we need when and as we need them. The Lord spoke to Moses in Exodus, and this has always encouraged my soul, "The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” Exodus 4:10-12.
Sometimes the Lord calls us to speak up, and sometimes the Lord calls us to be silent. Again in Exodus 14:14, we are encouraged by, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
The key I've found is discernment. Speaking when He wants us to and what He wants us to.
Guess what? I'm not the only one who struggles with this, it's as old as the writer of James reflecting on the ability to control the tongue. That man is perfect if he can do so. James 3:2, "We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check."
So, maybe instead of being the silent doormat consistently, I can choose to be the doormat the exudes grace to those who walk across me....
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