GENDER ISSUES PART II

GODLY WOMANHOOD

A BRIEF SCRIPTURAL OVERVIEW

Yesterday I promised at the end of our devotion that we would spend some time defining Biblical expectations of each gender. Today we'll start that process by looking at 4 verses that deal with Godly womanhood. The passages are not in any particular order of importance, because all these characteristics are things to strive for!

1. Proverbs 31:30- "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Ok, maybe I wasn't accurate, number 1 really is number 1 in importance. This verse comes out of the famous "perfect wife" chapter, Proverbs 31. In that chapter all sorts of activities this wonderful woman does are described, but at the very end, the author says of all the things that were impressive about her, this was the real foundation to it all. A Godly Woman begins and ends her day with a fear and love for God. Above her own beauty, and above her own charm, what really matters is her relationship to the Lord.

2. Proverbs 11:16- "A gracious woman gets honor, and violent men get riches."

Ok, why in the world would I quote this Proverb? Only to accent the importance of graciousness from a woman. It is a general truism not only in Scripture, but in the rest of life, that a gracious woman will receive honor, just as it is generally true in life that men of violence end up rich (think Don Corleone). Peter in chapter 3 of his first epistle mentions how godly it is for a woman to carry herself in a gracious tone to the rest of the world around her.

3. Proverbs 11:22- "Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion."

The less modest, the more piggy. Godly women strive for modesty. They do not look to show off what they got. They are not going to find their security in a stranger's eyes being drawn to their beauty, but rather will find their security in the gaze of their heavenly Father. 1 Peter 3 says,

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves

4. Proverbs 21:19- It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.

A godly woman is going to try and not be argumentative, yelling, nagging and screaming. The more a woman does fret and quarrel, the more unattractive she becomes to everyone around her, not just men.

We'll continue this list tomorrow, because there's still much more to be written....

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Erick