Charlotte, NC – God is also not aggressive. He doesn’t attack him as in a “Win/Lose” scenario. He doesn’t scream at him.

Rather, God is assertive in His style of communicating. That can be described as “Win/Win”. God is very direct in his style. He speaks from a perspective of clearly communicating His position without slamming Job against the wall. I like verse 3 that says, “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer me.”

I think too often in Christian circles we are passive in our communication. We don’t say what we are thinking for fear of offending the other person or hurting the other person’s feelings. The net result is a poor relationship. Patrick Lencioni in his book “Five Dysfunctions of a Team” explains that the base level of the dysfunctional pyramid is “Absence of Trust.” Trust can only be developed through vulnerability. Sharing what is really going on rather than saying what you think the other person wants to hear.

Six weeks later from my original meltdown with my sister, I was having lunch with a friend. She asked me what I thought of a particular situation we were both involved in. I am great at spinning anything and could have answered with a politically correct answer. Instead, I was brutally honest.

God doesn’t hate me. I know He deeply, deeply loves me. I just happen to live in a fallen world.

I’ll be back in two weeks. Until then, live well my friend.

Rev. Tony Marciano is the President/CEO of the Charlotte Rescue Mission. He is available to speak to your group. Go to www.charlotterescuemission.org and go to contact us- just ask for Pam.