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Archive for the ‘Identity’ Category

Living in the Real World

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Relationships, tagged , , , , , on January 9, 2012| 2 Comments »

Megan is an all American girl.  Like other freshmen in college, she considers herself “modern.”  She communicates by iPhone and Facebook, is comfortable with her “sexuality,” strolls through Victoria’s Secret with her boyfriend, and, ready for a serious relationship, scheduled an appointment to discuss birth control with a Planned Parenthood counselor.

Megan also considers herself to be a Christian.  She attended church regularly with her parents.  She was educated in parochial schools.  Her friends are Christian.  She knows the Bible stories and sings praises to God. 

Megan believes Jesus is her Savior.  If you were to ask her if she is a creation of God, she would answer “Yes!”  She has been taught that she can talk to God as if talking to her daddy.  He is “Abba Father” and, Megan has been assured, there is nothing she can do to change this fact.  Even when Megan forgets to pray or skips worship for another activity or sins in any way, God remains her Heavenly Father.  This gives Megan comfort, especially when she’s lonely or troubled.  She adores her “awesome God” on Sundays.  But, on Mondays, she returns to the “real” world.

In the “real” world, Megan was sharing a bed with her boyfriend.  They were in love and being responsibly adult.  Planned Parenthood helped her to separate the act of sex from procreation.  One weekend while visiting her parents, Megan did the usual thing by attending church with them.  But, what happened took Megan by surprise.  This day, the pastor seemed to look right at her.  The Word he spoke did not comfort but, instead, convicted.  Megan heard him say that those who follow the flesh by being sexually immoral, impure, and sensual are in danger of missing heaven (Galatians 5:19-21).  Megan also heard him say that a new person in Christ is equipped to guard against passions and desires (vv. 23-24).

Megan was conflicted.  She did not leave church that morning in a good mood.  What did it mean to be a “new person?”  How did that fit with being a “sexual being” as she had been taught to see herself?  Couldn’t she love Jesus and know He died for her, yet be “modern” in her thinking and behavior?  In an honest moment with her parents, Megan expressed fear.  “I’ve always known God loves me, no matter what.  No matter what, right Dad?  Right, Mom?”  In a way, Megan was asking what so many Christians might be asking themselves: If disobedience or sin cannot make me less God’s child, what does it matter what I do?  Why is it so important to obey God?  Why can’t I just follow my instincts?  Do whatever feels right for me depending on the situation?  Won’t it all work out in the end?  After all, Jesus died so that my sins are forgiven!

This is most certainly true.  Jesus died for a world of sinners.  You.  Me.  Every person ever conceived.  But, dear Megan, our behavior matters.  Why?  Because our behavior changes our attitude toward God.  Evidence of this abounds.  It is seen in a culture that determines for itself what is “right” and “wrong.”  It is the Christian parent who asks the pastor not to speak about the sin of living together lest his daughter co-habitating with her fiancé stops coming to church.  It is the pro-life Christian who has four children but isn’t married to any of their daddies.  It is the Christian woman whose choice of clothing reflects her glory rather than God’s and, intentionally or not, becomes a temptress.  It is the Christian father who, fearing for his daughter’s future, insists she have an abortion.  It is the Christian mother who defends her son’s homosexual lifestyle, saying, “God made him that way.”  It is whole bodies of Christians who want Jesus to wrap Himself around the desires of their hearts. 

The heart, says the world, is good and can be trusted.  The heart, says God’s Word, is deceptive and not to be trusted.   Ah, the fickle human heart!  It is influenced by the world and our own sinful flesh to oppose the Lord God even while it thinks it is still clinging to Him.   

Is Megan doing what we Christians too often do?  She knows she is saved and has the promise of heaven.  But, does she want God to fit her world?  She acknowledges God as her Creator but, depending on her circumstance, does she re-define what He has made?   She says Jesus is her Savior, but does He have anything to say about her relationships and choices?  She finds hope in being a “new person in Christ,” but is she talking and walking like a sinner bound to sin?    

Megan’s identity matters.  She is a child of God because of what Jesus did for her.  She has divine possibilities.  A rich inheritance.   Megan’s behavior also matters.  How does a daughter honor her Father?  How does she reflect His kind of love?  Patience?  Kindness?  Purity?   Megan’s identity as a child of God will never change.  But, her choices and behavior can change her attitude toward God.  Even place her inheritance at risk.

Our identity and behavior matter.  When we separate our God-given identity from the “real” world identity we give ourselves (at any given time, in any given circumstance), we are in danger.  We are in danger when we re-define things of God such as the value of human life, being male or female, purity, and marriage.  We are in danger when we follow instincts of the flesh and stubbornly defend every personal choice.  We are in danger when we exchange His Truth for our opinion.  These are dangerous behaviors that change our attitude toward God.  It is the most dangerous thing of all to make God what we want Him to be.

But, when children of God trust His Word to be living, active, and mighty in “real” life, our perspective of the world changes.  It does not hold us captive.  It is temporary.  It is a place we journey through on our way home to our Father’s Kingdom.  It is opportunity to think, speak, dress, work, play, love, care, and choose in ways that encourage others to ask: “Who is your Father?”  “Why do you do the things you do?” “What is your hope?”

Megan is the King’s daughter with a divine inheritance in store.  This is compelling reason to live a more noble and holy life.  A life with divine possibilities.   A life that reflects God rather than self.  A life that makes a difference in a “real” world.

T2-4Life  is a mentoring ministry that exists to help young ones make choices that 
reflect the holiness of God, but also remind older ones that mistakes of the past do 
not have dominion over changed people in Christ.  You are welcome to visit T2-4Life.

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Women in Fig Leaves: Not Enough!

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Faith & Practice, Identity, Sexy or holy?, tagged , , , , , on November 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Those of you who know me may remember that I frequently talk about the dress (or undress) of women.  It’s one of the “hot button” topics at Titus 2 Retreats.  If you’ve attended a “Dressing for Life: Secrets of the Great Cover-up” event or used the Bible study by the same name, you’ve heard me repeat God’s Word to women.  Fig leaves weren’t enough for Eve and they’re not enough for Eve’s daughters.  After Adam and Eve fell, God covered their embarrassment with clothing and their shame with Christ’s Robe of Righteousness.  To be “covered”  is both a physical and spiritual worldview.  The culture asks: Who needs to be covered?  The repentent Christian responds: I do.

It is with great appreciation that I share Adrienne Dorr’s blog entitled “Take My Jacket.”  I have spoken on this topic for years.  But, how thankful and refreshingly encouraged I am to read “Take My Jacket.”  How good it is to let another woman so eloquently (and faithfully) address this subject.  Why write a blog of my own when I can share what I believe through the gifted writing of Adrienne?

TAKE MY JACKET 
by Adriane Dorr

Ladies, we have a real problem. It’s our clothing. And, in particular, it’s the clothing we wear to church.

I get that there are certain kinds of clothes that make us feel better about ourselves, that give us a waist, that show off our curves, that make us feel feminine and confident.

But despite what the culture told you, it’s actually not all about you. There’s these other people in the world (they’re called men), and often times, the clothes we wear doesn’t exactly help them focus. That’s not helpful. In fact, it’s so not helpful, it’s hurtful.

The problem is exacerbated when we show up to church in clothes we shouldn’t. I’m not recommending women button up like we’re Amish or start wearing floor-length jean skirts. That’s not feminine either. But if your skirt is so short that it reveals your gender when you sit down, honey, it’s too short.

And think about your pastor. Young ladies, how’s he supposed to be preaching God’s Word to you when your skirt is so tight you can read its size on the label?

Or nursing moms? Please cover up. No pastor needs to turn around and see you adjusting all your feminine glory for your child. (And honestly, I don’t want to see it either.)

Or middle aged ladies? Put a tank-top on under that blouse. Your pastor has to bend over to give you Holy Communion, and he’s got enough on his mind to not have to deal with seeing all your girl bits too.

Dressing modestly isn’t the same as dressing like a frump from the 1980s. This doesn’t mean that you can’t feel good or look feminine or have a figure.  You don’t have to wear a burqua, and you should never, under any circumstance, take to wearing oversized, lumpy sweaters that make you look like a dude.

You don’t have wear long dresses Little-House-on-the-Prairie style. It doesn’t mean you can’t go to the swimming pool. It simply means that you don’t have to let all the parts of you that are uniquely feminine cease to be un-unique by showing them . . . constantly . . . to the whole world.

Besides, covering up a bit adds some mystique. Turns out you actually don’t have to give everything away in a guy’s first glance at you.

Lutheran ladies, we can get ourselves back out of this mess. We can work on our wardrobes and choose to wear things, especially to church, more suited to being in the presence of the God of creation who comes to meet us there. And we can choose to think more of our neighbor, of our pastors, of the guys we interact with than we do of ourselves, and then dress in a way that bears witness to the beautiful creations God made us to be.

Ezerwoman’s postscript:  Adrienne encourages Christian women to dress in a way that honors God — especially in church.  But, here’s the thing.  If we honor God in church — in His House, why would we not want to honor Him all week long — in His world?  As women of God in Christ, we are called to help men think on what is good, right, and praiseworthy every day.  This means turning attention away from the created to the Creator.  This means changing attitude from “it’s my body,  my choice” to “because I love God and care about my neighbor, I will try not to be a temptress.”

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Abortion, Sex Education & Forgiveness

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Parenting & Education, Sexy or holy?, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 17, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Today, I was invited to speak for a few minutes on Issues, Etc. — Lutheran Talk Radio.  How does one “speak for a few minutes” on two life-sized topics: Abortion and Sex Education?  It was impossible!

I’ve posted multiple blogs in recent weeks on sex education, yet have only covered the surface.  There is so much history!  So much experience!  Such bold contrast between the world’s idea of sex education and God’s command to instruct in purity.  Identity — how the world defines us vs. how God defines us — is core in this discussion.  At the very least, I hope one person was made more curious.

Well, go ahead…  if you wish.  Click on the link and listen 🙂

Abortion and Forgiveness & Sex Education, with Linda Bartlett, 11/16/2011

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Teens Speak on Modesty

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Faith & Practice, Identity, Parenting & Education, Vocation, tagged , , , on November 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

God created woman.  Her vocation is: “helper” (Hebrew: “ezer”) (Genesis 2:18). 

An ezer helps for good… or bad.  It would seem these young men and women agree.

http://youtu.be/exc9J0uJgdM

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Coexist

Posted in Faith & Practice, Identity, tagged , , , , , , , on October 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Most of us have followed a car bearing the bumper sticker: Coexist.  Symbols of different religions make up each letter of the word.  Sounds good.  In order to “give peace a chance,” shouldn’t we all “coexist?”  But, what does this mean?

Not everyone in my circle of family, friends or neighbors believes exactly as I do.  Therefore, I “coexist” with people of many perspectives on life and of many faiths by treating them as the human beings God made them to be.  They are worthy, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us all, of my kindness.  Respect.  Civility.  Care.  Concern.  Help.

Does the bumper sticker “coexist” suggest something more?  If so, other questions follow.  Can the religion of humanism or atheism coexist with the Biblical worldview of Creation, The Fall, and Redemption?  Can the way of Mohammed, Buddha, or Gaia coexist with the God who calls Himself “I Am;” who spoke to Job, asking: “Were you there . . .  Have you commanded . . . Do you know how . . . ?”  Can Jesus Christ coexist with the religion of “save yourself?”

At every Titus 2 Retreat, I share the passage from Ezra 4:3.  It is a powerful message for Christians living in this “progressive” age.  The Israelites had been captive in Babylon for a long, long time.  When the Babylonian king told the Israelites they could return to their homeland, very few of God’s people chose to do so.  They had coexisted with the Babylonian religions and practices for so long that they didn’t want to return to their “old ways.”  A relatively small number of Israelites returned to re-build the decayed city of Jerusalem.

With such few workers, the re-building of Jerusalem was difficult.  Watching the process, some non-believing neighbors in the land offered their assistance.  (Did they have an agenda of their own?)  But, God cautioned His people not to accept the help of unbelievers.  Why?  1) The job of rebuilding Jerusalem was given exclusively to God’s people, 2) accepting help from non-believers would obligate God’s people to pagan ways, and 3) the potential for corruption in worship was too great if God’s people aligned themselves with non-believers.

Can people who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ coexist with those who do not?  As kind and civil human beings who see each of their neighbors as creations of God: Yes.  But, as believers in the One True God who reveals Himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: No.  We cannot “coexist” if the definition is “blend,” “bend,” or “bow to other gods.”  The Biblical worldview of male and female, children and family, education, human care, law, government, and even economics contrasts all others.

What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness?  Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  What accord has Christ with Belial . . . What agreement has the temple of God with idols (2 Corinthians 6:14-16)?”

In the end, it comes down to our answer to the question asked by Jesus:

Who do people say that the Son of Man is (Matthew 16:13)?”

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New Testament People

Posted in Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, tagged , , , , , , , on September 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Sometimes, Christians are called people of the New Testament.  What does this say about the Old Testament?  What do we really know of Jesus without both Old and New Testaments?  In John 1, we are told that Jesus is The Word.  But, is that Word of Jesus only the red print of our New Testaments?

Think of all the New Testaments that have been published for a variety of reasons.  But, is the New Testament complete without the Old?  The New Testament is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But, for what reason do we need the Gospel?

Is the Old Testament just, well, old?  Didn’t Jesus come to do away with the old and bring in the new?

John 1 tells us: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (vv. 1-4, 14).

Hmmm.  This New Testament Word seems to identify Jesus as the Creator of all things.  But, where do we learn the details?  Upon what is “The Word was with God, and the Word was God” founded?  We are comforted by the salvation story of the New Testament, but upon what does it stand?  Is our hope in a feeling?

Every younger generation thinks itself more progressive and enlightened than the previous generation.  Technologically advanced, it’s easy to proclaim, “Out with the old!  In with the new!”  But, relegating the Old Testament of God’s Word to dusty shelves of folklore leaves Christianity without a foundation.  Ignoring historical relevance and archeological evidence leaves Sunday school children ill-equipped to defend their faith in the marketplace of ideas.

Genesis is the foundation of Christianity.  But, describe Genesis as a fairy tale for “neanderthals” and one can begin to undermine the authority of God’s Word: Jesus Christ.

The message of sin and the Cross was foolishness to the Greeks of St. Paul’s day.  That’s because the Greeks (Acts 17) had no knowledge or understanding of the first book of the Old Testament.  Without belief in Genesis, they were, shall we say, pre-Darwin people.  Evolutionists of a sort.  Captive to their own imaginings.  For this reason, the Apostle Paul had to define his terms and lay the foundation for the Gospel of Jesus Christ by starting at the beginning with the Genesis creation.  It was only then that some people could understand and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

In contrast, the Jews (Acts 2) were familiar with the Old Testament.  They understood and believed the history of Genesis.  They acknowledged the origin of sin.  Therefore, some of them could better understand the Gospel when the Apostle Paul presented it to them.

Before we can be new people — transformed people, we need to see the old for what it is.  God presents His-Story by starting at the beginning.  We should do the same.

Jesus becomes more than an “experiential moment” for people of the Old and New Testaments.  The One who calls Himself “The Way, the Truth, and the Life” is authority.   Jesus is The Word of creation.  He is the God who created male and female.  Defined marriage and family.  Ordered society.  Determined everything right.  Moral.  Good.  The first man and woman rebelled against The Word and fell from perfect creation.  We’ve been rebelling ever since.   But, for our sake, The Word did something unthinkable.  “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”   The Word — Jesus — became our Savior.

The glory of Christ — from Old Testament through New — is “full of grace and truth.”

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The Church & Planned Parenthood

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Parenting & Education, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 3, 2011| 5 Comments »

Christians have taken up with a man named Alfred Kinsey.  Knowingly or not, we embraced his worldview and adapted it as our own.  We rejected whatever seemed perverted, but quickly wrapped Jesus around whatever appealed to our (sinful) human nature.

Has the church paired with the “Canaanite woman?”   Have little icons of Kinsey’s religion been placed in the house?  Are not we all under the influence?   Have not the heads of two or three generations been turned by a worldview contrary to Christianity?

Kinsey’s worldview promoted the idea of total sexual autonomy even for girls and boys.  His beliefs were shared by Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood.  Together, they determined to free every man, woman, boy, and girl from the restraints of Biblical bondage.  They have accomplished what they set out to do.  It was not difficult.  One phrase — one simple distortion of truth — was repeated over and over: “Children are sexual from birth.”  If indeed “sexual,” then “sexual needs” cry out to be met.  “Sexual rights” must not be denied.  “Sexual expression” must take its “personal course.”

Once deceived, it was not long before fear took root.  “If children are intrinsically sexual beings, they will probably ‘do it;’ therefore, we have to help them ‘do it’ safely.”  No parent wants to see their son or daughter suffer HIV/AIDS or the new “illness” called pregnancy.  PP stood ready to help with a plethora of services including the s0-called “planning of parenthood” or practice of “reproductive choice,” a.k.a. abortion.

Parents — those to whom children are entrusted — doubted Biblical instruction in purity and stepped into the quicksand of sex education.   One worldview was exchanged for another and association with PP was rationalized.  But, Jesus — The Word — does not wrap Himself around opposing worldviews.

Jesus — The Word (John 1) — does not say that children are “sexual from birth.”  He says that children are knit together by God in the wombs of their mothers as human beings of the male or female sex.   He says that dads and moms are to guard the innocence of boys and girls, equal but different, as they also mentor Biblical manhood and womanhood.  Good parents do not rev up their son’s engine nor encourage their daughter’s provocative dress.  Good parents, according to the Christian worldview, instructs sons and daughters in patience.  Purity.  Wisdom.

Stealing away — child by child — from the Biblical worldview is the institutional monolith created by the Kinseyites and Sangerites.  Can we be so foolish as to not learn from history?  Just as the Canaanites had their way with the Israelites, do these modern “ites” have their way with us?  Does the modern church think itself beyond temptation? Can Christian parents — in any way — defend the work of PP?

Some Americans are calling for a full-scale Congressional investigation of PP.  In recent years,  PP clinics have been caught placing girls and young women at further risk.  PP employees have assisted pimps and sex traffickers, misled girls and women about the dangers of abortion, refused to comply with parental-notification laws, and misused millions of taxpayer dollars.  Evidence reveals PP’s failure to report child sex abuse.  Instead, PP clinics have been caught advising under-age girls and those who exploit them on how to circumvent mandatory reporting laws on rape and abuse.

PP needs to be investigated.  But, at the same time, Christians should be calling for full-scale investigations of their church’s educational sources, teaching, and practices.

We should clear our houses of Canaanite icons.

As people of God’s Word — both Old and New Testament — we should repent of our failures to guard the innocence of the little ones He calls by name.

We should contrast the Biblical worldview with all others.

Then, remembering that we have forgiveness in Jesus Christ, we can leave wrong ways behind.  Resist temptation and doubt.  Push back against ungodly-ites.  Restore and rebuild.

Early Christians knew they should stand in protection of their children.  That is why they instructed sons and daughters in patience.  Purity.  Wisdom.  That is why they encouraged modesty of dress and behavior.  That is why they taught that God’s Word can be trusted.

Modern Christians are compelled to do the same.

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No More Beating Up On Boys

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Parenting & Education, tagged , , , , , , , on August 3, 2011| 2 Comments »

There’s a soft spot in my heart for boys.  Not surprising considering that I’m mom to two sons and grandma to four grandsons.  This means I’ve been very attentive to the way America treats boys and men.  I do not exaggerate.  The culture is beating up on our boys.

Dr. James Dobson recognized it years ago.  It’s why he wrote Bringing Up Boys before he wrote his book on girls.  It’s why Christina Hoff Sommers wrote The War Against Boys.  But, the war on boys puts girls at greater risk, too.

“If just one sex wins, both sexes lose.”  These words were spoken at a recent event sponsored by the Boys Initiative in Washington.  The group believes that we need to start a national conversation aimed at improving the outcomes for American boys and men in school, work, health, and marriage.

“. . . [W]e have a national crisis, a national security issue, a state-of-emergency issue and a nation at risk,” stated Willie Iles, national director of government relations for Boy Scouts of America and board member of the Boys Initiative.  “If anybody cannot understand that, as we talk about investments and the return on those investments, which are our boys, then it is very clear we are going in the wrong direction.”

Cheryl Wetzstein, a columnist for The Washington Times, notes startling statistics.  “Compared to girls, boys are less educated and more medicated.  One in five men of prime working age is not working.  Men have a life expectancy five years shorter than women.  Male suicide rates start out equal to females, but steadily rise over the lifespan.

America is failing its sons.  Is this not shameful?

There is no time to wallow in despair.  There is work to be done.  It begins with respect and appreciation for boys and girls: equal, but different.  Let’s get over the foolishness that boys and girls are the same.  Each brings to society something good and necessary.  Rather than putting them into competition, let’s help them develop their complementary skills with confidence.    Let’s help them communicate and problem-solve, not in sexuality class, but by teaching skills for life and how to relate.

To my gender, specifically, I say: Let’s boycott women’s study classes at the university, stop laughing at “men are idiots” commercials, and walk away from conversations that put boys and men down.  As mothers of sons, let’s praise the faithfulness of husbands and, when they are unfaithful or uninvolved, point sons to the Perfect Man, Jesus Christ.  Let’s help our sons treat older women as mothers and younger women as sisters, in all purity.  Let’s explain why we value brave men who protect us from wolves at the door.

Let’s give our boys (and girls) the far-reaching benefits of marriage, home and family.  It is folly for our nation and suicide for our boys to set fire to traditional and real marriage.  A male father and female mother model roles vital to their son’s social survival.    Together, dads and moms help boys channel natural aggressiveness into someday providing for their own families.  For goodness sake, let’s help our boys think and give them work to do.

President Obama has launched a national Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative.  I’ll be honest.  Our boys and men — and, therefore, we girls and women, too — would benefit far more from the mentoring of a caring Christian community.  A community of older men and women who pass on the wisdom of experience, the practice of self-control, and the promise of identity in Jesus Christ.  A community that says, “No thanks” to federal grants or incentives with strings attached.

This momma bear perseveres in defense of America’s sons.  I do this best by assisting those who make the greater difference in the lives of  boys becoming men.  They are the weathered warriors who grip the Sword of Truth.  They are the men who learned their lessons well.  Who fell on humbled knees, then rose to re-engage.  These older men are “sober minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.”   I’ve seen these models of integrity.  I’ve heard their speech and witnessed behaviors that cannot be condemned,  rather put opponents to shame (Titus 2).

For seasoned and honorable men, I am grateful.  Under their tutelage, boys mature in wisdom.  Strength.  Service.

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Sexual Trail Blazing

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Parenting & Education, Relationships, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 15, 2011| 1 Comment »

Yesterday, California’s Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law legislation that requires the state’s schools to teach the contributions of people who are lesbian, bisexual, “gay,” and transgender.

S.B. 48 makes California the first state in the union to pass such a law.  It was authored by Senator Mark Leno of San Francisco, a homosexual.  The law requires textbooks be re-written to include information about LBGT Americans and “present them in a positive light.”

Students as young as six will be affected.  Parental notification is not required.  Parents cannot opt their children out.

The governor says the bill prohibits “discrimination in education.”  He stated that “history should be honest.”

For the sake of honesty:

  1. What is the driving force behind this law?  What is the desired outcome?  Who does it benefit?
  2. To whom are children entrusted: their parents or the school?
  3. If parents teach God’s Word to their children because it protects them from harm, why would the governor, teacher’s association, or school want to contradict parents?
  4. Why does the bill prohibit teachers and textbooks from telling students that homosexuality is a risky lifestyle?  The practice of homosexuality carries with it the highest rate of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, high cancer rates, and earlier deaths.

It has always been a good thing to teach young people about the contributions of earlier Americans.  But, honestly, where is the textbook describing the contributions of George Washington the heterosexual?  Clara Barton the heterosexual?  Martin Luther King, Jr. the heterosexual?

Apparently S.B. 48 is California’s eighth school sexual indoctrination law forcing itself on parents and children.  What will this trend in sexual trail blazing leave behind?

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Foolish Women

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Relationships, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

To be sure, men can be foolish, too.  Still, I am intrigued by the fact that the book of Proverbs calls attention to foolish woman.  As a woman, it seems appropriate for me to pick up on this — and ponder.

Light contrasts dark.  Hope contrasts despair.  God’s Word contrasts deception.  In Proverbs, God teaches the way of wisdom by contrasting it to foolishness.  So, I’m pondering the following verses.  And, I’m thinking of the hopeful difference women could make if they responded with wisdom in contrast to foolishness.

An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones”(12:4).

The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down” (14:1).

. . . [A] wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.  House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord” (19:13b-14).

It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife” (21:9; 25:24; 21:19).

As long as women are deceived by the world, we will remain foolish.  Fretful.  Impatient.  We will fall to the idolatry of self.  Expect others to make us happy.  Blame them when they don’t.  Our houses will become cold.  Unwelcoming.  Without mercy.   But, there is hope.  There is always hope!

The remedy for foolishness is to be in God’s Word (Proverbs 2:1).  (All of His Word, not just the passages we like.)  Jesus Christ is the Word that brings people from darkness to light.  Sets captives free.  A foolish world is overcome by Jesus Christ.  One day, it will pass away and be no more.   For now, He commands the dawn to know its place and takes hold of the skirts of the earth (Job 38:12-13).  Evil, disguised as good, is being shaken and exposed.

If we want to be wise — even in the midst of those who think themselves sophisticated and progressive — we must know Christ.  Not just quote Him, but study Him.  Then seek to follow Him.  Turn away from silly myths.  Tell Satan to jump a cliff.  Be repentant for wrong choices of the past and begin to trust the Creator of our lives.  See the things of this world as Jesus sees them: False.  Puffed up.  Loud.  Arrogant.  Harmful.  Hopeless.

And, so, the wisest of women builds her house.  Her sphere of influence.  She trusts that God will meet her needs in unexpected ways.  Putting herself in His care, she is free.  To leave old ways behind.  Serve husband and children.  Encourage.  Build up.

May I — and all the women in my life — be like the adulterous woman who sat at the feet of Jesus.  Sins exposed and forgiven.  Eyes open.  The foolishness of the temporary exchanged for the wisdom of the eternal.

No longer foolish, may we be a refuge.  Our light burning brightly.  Our homes a welcoming place.

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