Be Salt and Light

Christian Working Woman Transcript

Friday, November 30, 2007 - Is Assertiveness Acceptable?

Do you ever struggle with the issue of assertiveness? As a Christian as well as a woman, I've sometimes been in a quandary about when I should assert myself, my ideas, my opinions, and when I should be quiet. There's always been a bit of a double standard when it comes to what is acceptable assertiveness for women versus men, but as we've studied, biblical guidelines do not differentiate.

For all of us who belong to Jesus and are in the process of being confirmed to His image, Jesus is our ultimate role model and His manner of assertiveness certainly gives us strong guidelines as we try to find the right balance in our own lives.

An important characteristic of Jesus' assertiveness is that His motivation transcended His own individual rights. Though frequently falsely accused and maligned, He never defended Himself or His own reputation. He stood against evil and injustice; He condemned hypocrisy and evil. But never did He become assertive in defense of His own personal rights.

How often our drive to be assertive is totally motivated by self interest without regard for others. In other words, it does not take much for assertiveness to turn into aggressiveness. Our fallen, sinful nature just naturally rises up and demands that our territory be protected, but that is not Jesus' type of assertiveness.

As Christians we have an overriding principle under which we operate. Our actions must always bring glory to God. There are times when assertiveness is totally compatible with that objective. But there are times even in our business lives when it will not be appropriate for us to be assertive, even if the cause is right. There are times when we must back away from defending our rights and let God be our defense.

An assertiveness that is controlled by these principles is so different from what the world expects of people, that they will not be able to avoid that light they see in us, and the saltiness of our lives will make them thirsty. And that's the bottom line: How can I be salt and light in this world where I work? That's what counts for eternity.

If it sounds difficult or too idealistic, I would encourage you to rethink your reaction. It may be difficult, but it is so much easier than constantly standing vigil over your own rights and interests. And if it seems idealistic, it's only because so few Christians have ever dared to apply God's principles to their business worlds that we have few role models. Why don't we start to change that.