Feminine Sins
The daughters of Eve are being seduced. Feminine temptations to sin are the same today as they were in the garden. That wile Serpent still whispers in the ear of women “God is holding back on you! You know better than God! You be you! You fulfill your dreams! Put yourself first” I see women everywhere nodding in agreement.
An Apology
It is appropriate to start with an apology. For far too long I did not speak to women as women. I spoke to women with kid gloves on. I arrogantly thought Christian women couldn’t handle what God had to say to them. I tiptoed, walked on eggshells, beat around the bush, scared of the women in the church. It was cowardly. It was belittling. On behalf of the few pastors who would stand with me, I am sorry. We are sorry. I will speak to you as a woman. You can hear what God says to you without flinching! Cant you?
Giftings
Now, back to deception. I think the center of deception for women in our moment in history is the celebration of “Gifts” without restraint. I see many women so embracing their giftings to the point that they are finding their identity in them. With the aid of feminism, self-care garbage, egalitarians, and soft-complementarians women are encouraged to embrace their gifts and use them in whatever way they so choose. But sister, you are more than your gifting. Your abilities do not define you and your abilities must be submitted to God’s word. You don’t have the liberty to use your gifting any way you see fit. Neither do I.
That is one reason I love the Proverbs 31 woman. Go ahead, open it up, and take a fresh look. A few things to note about this woman; her husband trusts in her, she works hard, she feeds her family, she buys a field to aid her work at home, she sees her merchandise is profitable, she helps the poor, she clothes her family for winter, and so on. I want you to notice something that is so crucial. As the noblewoman is working from home, she perceives her merchandise is profitable. What does she do? She sits on it. Why? Because her gifts are not her identity. It is not until verse 24 after her household is taken care of that she sends her garments to the merchants. Notice, the Proverbs 31 woman didn’t have to do what she wanted when she wanted. She was gifted to make clothes, but she was called to the home and she knew that was the priority. A woman like this deserves to be praised!
Callings
Ladies, I want you to consider your calling. Calling is more important than gifting. Titus two tells us very plainly the calling of the woman. Notably, the chapter does not say anything at all about gifting. It is about calling. You may say: “Well I am not built for this. God did not wire me to be fulfilled doing that.” Okay, Eve… Suppose a husband said to his wife, “Babe, loving you as Christ loves the church does not fulfill me. He did not wire me to be the husband of one wife.” What would we all say? “Love your wife man! Obey! It does not matter if loving your wife makes you fulfilled or not!” Ladies, listen to this from Titus 2:3-5 “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” That is your calling no matter what your gifting! Every one of you. You don’t get to opt-out of this!
Remember, you are a Christian woman, you can hear this without flinching! Ladies, you are called to the home. It is not your only calling, but it is where your glory is. There is a time for you to use your gifting elsewhere and within the parameters of God’s word. But your gifting is meant to shine the brightest in the context of your calling. Working outside the home is not bad. Growing in your gifting is not bad. But don’t drink the cool-aid. Your opportunity for kingdom impact starts in the home not out there!
Gospel
Now ladies, lest you feel condemned. Let me remind you of Jesus. Jesus came to do the will of the Father. He did not question his Father’s words or put his fingers in his ears and hum when his Father was speaking. He obeyed in your place. You don’t have to approach these passages as if it’s all up to you. You must understand the gospel before you can properly obey. So by God’s grace, run to the cross and find rest for your soul. Then, you will be ready to obey God properly. You can be a woman of gratitude, not condemnation.
They Exist
You may think women like this are unicorns. But church history is full of them. Today, you can find them around. I am married to one of these earth-shakers. I am a member of a church that is full of them. So sisters, look to the word, not to the world. See what God has plainly called you to. Rest in the finished work of Christ, and by that grace take dominion of this world through your home.
This is great, and I hope you will continue with a part 2. I almost wish you could write an instruction manuel. Just to be honest, the woman of Proverbs 31 seems so unattainable, why do I see her as a woman I will never be able to measure up to? How do we go about getting our lives, that may be out of balance, back to being in balance? I know where it starts, it starts with devoting our lives and hearts to God in action vs. intention. It starts with discipline, It starts from meeting with our savior daily,in reading his word, meditating, on it and talking to him, but sometimes I still feel inadequately prepared to face all the demands I’m challenged with. And let’s just be honest, I don’t do any of the forementioned as well as I should.
We DO need to hear this message and we need it often. It’s so contrary to what the world teaches. I think the sin that really needs to be called out, is the sin of selfishness. Our mind set, from everything we see, Everything we hear, is, it’s all about me and I deserve it, I deserve to be happy. I think even in marriages, it’s the biggest issue we face. If we can learn how to be true servants of God and a selfless people, that’s when things will getter better and God will get the glory, he knows and we all know, we will never be selfless by our self, it can only happen by submitting ourselves to him. The true Proverbs woman puts her needs last, infact, she’s so busy carrying and managing everything I don’t think she even thinks about herself, and you know what else, I bet if you could ask her, she wouldn’t have it any other way!
Thank you so much for the comment! Here is the reality. We are all inadequate. It’s not simply that ladies cant measure up to the proberbs 31 woman, its that we dont measure up to Christ. You know this, I know. So in Christ, condemnation is thrown out the window. We are free to look at Prov. 31 or any passage for that matter, rest in the finished work of Christ who loved and obeyed God’s word perfectly for us, and do the best we can with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Proverbs 31 woman is so interesting because she has her priorities in line because her giftings and desires are not driving her. That is a goal for all of us. In light of the Good News of what Jesus has done for us we don’t have to be a slave to our abilities and desires today. So we can simply as God to help us today. Over time, we walk in more and more obediance.
Wow!! Never heard it put this way. My calling verses my gifting. How is it that no one has referred a woman’s calling as “taking care of our home”? It makes so much sense. Meanwhile women are racing around trying to fill a “need” to be important in mission feilds which takes them outside of the home, only to suffer with guilt of not being home. We can handle the truth Mr. Sparks, we desire the truth. Don’t hold back!!