FOR THE NEXT TIME YOUR BOSS ‘CHEWS YOU OUT’…

Here’s a quick story. One day years ago while working a previous job, I was in the office, and I didn’t do a particular job to meet my direct manager’s expectations. That’s just a reality of work and relationships. We will not always meet each other’s expectations.

That particular manager became very angry, slammed his fist on the desk and said very loudly in front of everyone, “You will NOT do this like this again!”

I remained calm, and went to the bathroom to pray and ask God to give me the wisdom to handle the situation.

I then calmly returned to his desk and said, “Listen, my name is not Chris (his son’s name is Chris). I respect your authority, and you can write me up, suspend me, or even fire me, but you WILL NOT DISRESPECT ME AGAIN! The reason we are both here is to provide for our families, and your position does not give you the right to disrespect me.” He spent the rest of the day apologizing to me, and thank God it never happened again.

It’s amazing how some people equate being loud, mean, and difficult to strength, leadership and assertiveness.

Notice that what God defines as the Fruit of His Spirit, the evidence that we are in relationship with Him, are qualities that are considered weak in ‘Western’ culture.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ^23 [a]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

When did it become acceptable for leadership to get a pass on being respectful?

It reminds me of the pass that so many in society gives coaches to use profanity and disrespect to coach their children… https://beblesstified.com/2019/04/06/why-its-not-okay-for-coaches-to-curse-your-children-3/

It’s amazing how some people are impressed with cursing, profanity, insults, condescension, and even blasphemy, even people in the Body of Christ… https://beblesstified.com/2019/10/21/5-catastrophic-implications-of-when-christians-cuss-4/

God expects us to remain in His character, especially when we are in positions of leadership. And, when we work with people who don’t have a relationship with God, it’s our responsibility to hold them accountable.

You can be an influence on the culture of your workplace by how you respond to the negative, difficult situations.

Pray for discernment so you can know in which situations to speak up, and in which situations to remain silent.

You can respond in God’s love, but also in His authority. Control your emotions, choose your words carefully, speak calmly, and be prepared for the consequences of you standing your ground.

Proverbs 15:1 (NKJV)

15 A soft answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Quiet doesn’t always mean silent…