Lion-Hearted

Annual reviews are never fun. But sometimes you can learn something from them that you can use outside of work.

I had my annual review on Wednesday, and didn't really think much of it - it was mainly compliments on my work ethic, my ability to grasp new concepts, and my speed and efficiency. The only critique I received was that I needed to be more assertive, instead of being so passive.

Like I said, I didn't really think much about it. I decided I'd take that advice and begin working on being more assertive at work, as requested, but I didn't consider how I could use it outside of work.

Well, as I was driving to work today, I was thinking about what I wanted to write about, and I kept coming up blank. But then I remembered my annual review and how they had told me I needed to be more assertive, and I realized that this didn't just have to pertain to work.

It could also pertain to my walk with Christ. It could pertain to how effective I was at reaching people for Christ, to how devoted I was to learning more about Him, to what I did with my time and whether or not what I did helped further His kingdom.

I realized while driving that I needed to be more assertive in Godly ways, instead of just humanly ways. I needed to be more assertive to get people to know Christ. I needed to be more assertive in getting to know Christ myself. This could include prayer, worship, teaching, or simply talking to someone about my Saviour.

I was being a timid sheep, carefully keeping to myself and the few people I interacted with, instead of being a lion and charging forward with a mighty roar.

I've heard it asked that if you truly loved someone, why wouldn't you want to tell them the truth about your Savior so that they could have eternal life and happiness with Jesus? And I had never really thought about that either, because I thought I was doing a fair-enough job.

But you know something?

Fair-enough isn't good enough. Good enough isn't great enough. Great enough isn't even considered 'enough'.

I was willing to live in a 'fair-enough' way, and by doing so, I was being passive.

I'm sick and tired of being a passive Christian, of being a sheep. I'm ready to be assertive; I'm ready to be a lion. I want to talk about my faith to anybody who is willing to listen; I have decided to attempt to wake up earlier so I can spend time in the Word and praying; I have determined that I will spend more time preparing for my kids on Wednesday and Sunday.

And these are just the minor things.

I have also determined that sometime soon, whether this year or next, I want to go on an international mission trip where I can love on people, share the Gospel with as many as possible, and bless them while I'm there.

As Christians, we are called to love our neighbors - this includes those in poverty-stricken environments, and I want to do what I am called to do. I want to love these people, and the best way I know to love them is to share the truth about Christ.

So let's stop being passive. Let's be assertive.

Instead of being timid sheep, let's roar like lions.