We are always going to have those who oppose us. On the day that the LORD allows a great movement in the people, and they repent, on their knees, with tears, publicly proclaiming their sins and making recompense, opening their closets and letting sunlight disinfect, there will be those who complain about the lack of dignity and that there is too much emotion.
One could reverse this. If you are not annoying people, if you are not called abrasive, a blot on the community, unprofessional, uncollegial, and a fundamentalist, you are probably ineffective.
In all communication, the primary responsibility lies with the person talking, not the person being addressed. If people regularly misinterpret you, the fault is almost always your fault, not theirs. If women “speaking their opinion” are often perceived as angry, then, assuming they are not angry, it is obvious they are inadvertently or unconsciously sending out signals that are easily misinterpreted as anger.
The problem, I suspect, is that many women have zero self-confidence. That’s why about 50 percent of all individual female products are sold on the basis of claims that they will improve the buyer’s confidence. (The other half concern divulging the secret of an envied woman’s success in looking prettier than the buyer.) And what most people lacking in self-confidence do when they are trying to state their opinion or speak up for themselves is either a) apologize in advance in the manner demonstrated above or b) overcompensate and come off as angry.
It’s absurd to say that women are speaking in this way out of fear of being perceived as Terrifyingly Angry, they are doing so because they are Ridiculously Insecure.
The fact is that if you have to steel yourself and work yourself up to simply stating your opinion, or worse, do so just to cite a straightforward fact, you are almost always going to come off badly. Your behavior and expression will not be consistent with your message. Most of these women who think they are just stating the case simply and effectively would be shocked if they saw a video of themselves doing it and saw their furrowed brows, angry facial expressions, and heard how their voices were raised as if in anger.
I would go further. Unless you are trolling deliberately (in which case troll hunt! [1]) then you are not responsible for how your message is received. Your responsibility ened when you deliver it.
Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
The door may be open: the spirit may be working. It is our job to speak clearly. It is our job to stand. God provides the growth. Not us.
Many times, as any parent will understand, the best advice and the wisest thing is to say No. Let the tantrum occur: you will not play on the railway tracks, bring cannabis home, or go out with that damaged girl while you live in my house and eat my food.
Be not a troll, nor a person who demands tithes: indeed, as Paul was, be meticulous with the monies collected for charity (the monies were to help Jerusalem Christians, for there was a famine in Palestine).
For the spirit of this age hates the church. Repenteance and salvation pain him. He will bring out his minions, who have many faces, and many names, all of which mean little. You will be called many things. But say the gospel clearly. It needs no apology.
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1. The species Trollis Trollis is known to be a delicacy when pan fried past well done to a crunchy state and served with an industrial tomato sauce.