No More Mrs. Nice Girl

I am reading this awesome book. It is called No More Christian Nice Girl. I love it! I figured out why I run myself ragged when I try and form Christian girlfriend relationships. There is this perception that as a Christian woman you must always say the kind, gentle, encouraging word to others. There is this silly idea that you, as a Christian woman, will always be nice. The truth of the matter is, it is a FLAT out LIE. There is no Scriptural reference that states, Thou must be nice! Nice in itself is a lie conjured up to make us,as women, think we can be perfect.

When we try to be nice, we sacrifice who God really intended us to be. I am not saying that we can walk around being mean to people. Rather, I am saying that like the women in the Bible, we need to start standing up for God's truth and not man's truth. Too many times, I find myself trying to be nice, when the reality is that I am disobeying God's call for me to tell the truth. The problem I have is that people have told me not to speak up. People have told me that I am "defensive, mean, insincere." Instead of believing God, I believe them! What a sham!

If you are a woman that loves Jesus, then stop loving yourself. There is no need to walk around trying to be perfect. People will figure out soon enough that you aren't. It is the true friends that God wants you to be with that will stick around. I wish I had learned this earlier in my life. Man, it would have saved so much energy, time, tears. God created us, as women, because we have so much to offer in relationships. Why make a mess of them?

There are so many areas we can try to be nice; work, home, church, relationships. Each area suffers tremendously when we do not show our true selves. There are so many examples of women in the Bible that look nothing like the women in our churches today. No wonder why so many relationships in the Christian church are built on flattery and falsehood. Deborah, Jael, Ruth, Mary the sister of Martha. Each of these women torn up the scene. Ruth with a past centered around idolatry became a one God woman. She slept on the floor beneath a man following God's command. She could have been seen as dirty for doing this but Boaz recognizing her godliness protected her from what people would say about her. What a man! Mary the sister of Martha could have been seen by many Christians as lazy, unwilling to serve when she chose to sit at the feet of Jesus. But, rather than give into the "I must serve mentality" she sat a listened to Jesus.

These women were not pressured to act, look, and serve a certain way. No. They embraced who they were are stood up for it. We are sending non-Christian women the wrong message when we act nice. That is not who God made us. He made us bold, courageous, awed by his presence. I am sure if you are reading this you might even think, who does she think she is? Really, she has it all wrong. Good. That's what I want you to think. I'd rather you disagree with me than pretend you like everything I have to say.

So I encourage you women take off the false veil and put on your crown of righteousness. Ask for freedom from all the lies that have been told to you that you are too loud, too opinionated, too careless. You are exactly who God wants you to be. Channel that engery and worship him--- the reward is a bold life blazing with the works of the Holy Spirit.