Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Accused of Being Ignorant


Expect to not be liked by many if you teach or speak the Truth of God’s Word. They will tell you that you lack grace and humility. They will accuse you of being hateful, ignorant, or your head is in the clouds. Here is the typical feminist response when I write a post about younger women being a keeper at home. This is an actual comment.

"Proverbs 31 also states women are to be hard working not lazy and only staying home doing nothing, but to be productive. How can a godly woman influence and speak for others by staying home living in a bubble? How can our children compete in this world and succeed, if women and mothers also don’t contribute financially? What is the point if sending girls to get an education if their only goal is to stay home and do nothing but housework? Women can balance and choose. Don’t you dare say it’s ungodly for a woman to work outside her home. You just insulted many teachers, nurses, doctors, nurses, judges, social workers, and reverends! I’m unfollowing your ignorance now!"

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed {Titus 2:4, 5}.

Proverbs 31 also states women are to be hard working, not lazy and only staying home doing nothing, but to be productive. Women don't have to be lazy at home and they should not be. God has called us to work hard since this is what He has created us to do. There is a lot of work to be done in the home: cooking, cleaning, teaching and disciplining children, shopping, gardening, creating, exercising, being a help meet to their husband, sewing, reading, studying, and any number of projects they have in the home. A godly wife in the home raising children should never be lazy, but do her work cheerfully as unto the Lord.

How can a godly woman influence and speak for others by staying home living in a bubble? A mother at home influences society more than anything any one else can do since she is in charge of raising human beings and the next generation who will go out into the world. These children hopefully will be salt and light to a dark and decaying culture. When she goes to the store, she can strike up conversations with the cashier and begin to minister to her. She can do this wherever she goes. Her greatest influence, however, will be with her own family. 

How can our children compete in this world and succeed, if women and mothers also don’t contribute financially? I only worked for the first two years of my oldest daughter's life but have been home ever since. My husband has worked hard for all of us to provide for us just as the Lord has commanded him to do. He commands all men to provide for their families. We don't need to contribute financially to the world since there is a whole lot more to life than just making money. Raising a human being is a lot more important in God's eyes since this is eternal work and making money isn't since everything will one day burn up except for the souls of human beings.

What is the point if sending girls to get an education if their only goal is to stay home and do nothing but housework? Daughters still need an education so they can read, do math, and develop their intellect; then they can raise godly, wise, and intelligent children. Their entire education can be done at home, especially with all the amazing homeschool programs available now. If they want to have a career before having children, they should try not to have any debt and be able to quit their career at any time, so they can be home full-time with their children once they have them.  

Women can balance and choose. Don’t you dare say it’s ungodly for a woman to work outside her home. You just insulted many teachers, nurses, doctors, nurses, judges, social workers, and reverends! What about all of the children who are being denied having their mothers home full-time with them? Don't they count? Don't they need their mothers more than anyone else? Others can fill the place of all those careers you mentioned such as men {best choice and only choice for reverends}, single women, childless women, and women whose children have all grown up, but no body can take the place of a mother in a child's life.

I’m unfollowing your ignorance now! That's okay with me. I just hope I have planted some seeds of Truth in your mind that may take root some day and you will go home full-time to be with your children and raise them instead of having someone else do it.

I’m not the one who made this verse up. The God of the universe who created us and knows what is best for us is the One who made up this verse! This woman is shooting the messenger but the One who she is really shooting and will have to answer for is the Lord.

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 3:6, 7
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Comments (50)

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I think a lot of the anger from these women really stems from guilt. I think many of them know that they should be home with their children, but they will find any reason to justify being lured by the material world.
1 reply · active 465 weeks ago
Take a look around and see what the fallout is to parents being very busy and both working - never has personal debt been so high. I just read in the paper this morning that a large percentage of families don't have 400.00 tucked away and can't cope with any slight financial emergency; too many children are being supervised by their cell phones - that's how they keep in touch with their parents, landfills are overflowing with junk; stuff that people just keep on buying but don't need. Women at home are such a blessing to everyone. They can volunteer, they're there for their families, they have time to make nutritious meals - I am so thankful that my mom was always at home for us. Everyday she would hear her 7 kids come home and say, "hi Mom". I'm so thankful that I could hear that too. Maybe I wasn't industrious as the busy world would want me to be, but the kids could sit down with me after school and tell me about their day. I'll take that!
1 reply · active 465 weeks ago
Praying for you that this unkindness is left in the Lord's Hands and does not stay in your heart. I appreciate the wonderful things you are sharing here. Stay the course.
Grace and peace....Shirley
2 replies · active 465 weeks ago
Dear Lori,
I'm so sorry that this lady showed such anger towards you. I am of the belief that the "world" has so permeated society's belief system, that there are many who simply cannot understand that the Word of God is not just sometimes, but always best.
We have been fed such lies for so long, that we accept them as truth. Anyone who challenges that thinking becomes a threat.
Take heart, dear lady.. You are in good company, for such has been the way with the prophets, apostles, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
My only comment regarding the lady is that if she does not like the things you say, she could have simply just unfollowed you.

Christine xx
2 replies · active 465 weeks ago
Wow, that was an unkind comment and also very uninformed. I am sorry you have to field so many of these. Do these bother you very much? I think they would start to get to me after awhile. I hope, like Shirley stated above that these don't stay on your heart. You have been such a blessing to us, may our God bless you greatly.

Also, I thought Maria made an excellent point. It is true that with so many women working our debt level is still super high, one of the highest it has ever been. So mothers going to work is not the answer to making it financially.
1 reply · active 465 weeks ago
I had to chuckle when I read your sentence, " I didn't write Proverbs 31 - God did." You are absolutely right, and the King knows what he is doing. We honor God with our Faith and trust when we follow his loving instruction, and he blesses us for that. I'll be 65 years old this year. I have seen first hand the sadness and hardship of a family not grounded by a mother at home. God doesn't command women not to be doctors and nurses, but if you marry, you have a much more important, godly ordained role. Keep sharing God's truth. People try to fit His commands to suit their lifestyle, instead of obeying his commands.
1 reply · active 465 weeks ago
Amen to Shirley's comment. Thank you for standing firm...standing on God's word. God bless you and I praise God for the internet providing much needed Titus women who are willing.
Mrs. O
1 reply · active 465 weeks ago
I realize only God truly knows this woman's heart and where is at with her faith. And yet so many others out there blatantly and stubbornly refuse to listen and learn from scriptures, attacking those who teach it as they are smaller targets than the Lord himself. I know some women feel convicted by hearing the God's word, and that's uncomfortable for them. And we all know that society today tells us to do whatever feels good and to do whatever we want instead of obeying God and His word.... Such a deceiving and destructive mindset. It's a constant battle and Chrisrians have to constantly be in guard. For those who refuse to follow God and instead follow their ideas (and even their hearts, as the heart is deceitful), their arguments are clearly with him, not you. If only women acknowledged God in all of their ways. I feel sorry for these individuals because they are missing out on God's greatest blessings. That one area of our life that we hold back from the Lord is often the area He wants most. Our enemy is the father of lies and he is out to steal and destroy. He gets women where they are weak and loves it when they don't listen to the truth of scriptures but rather the world instead. Satan might even mix in just a tiny but of truth into his lies in order to deceive more. Aside from women maybe considering God's word and just haven't declared it for themselves yet, there are real scoffers who resist truth and discipline and work to deceive others as well. I'm reminded of these verses:

Proverbs 19:25 - Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.

Proverbs 29:8-9 - Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath. If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet (calmness).

Some individuals are not only unteachable (they are apostates) and fail to see the greatness and glory of the Lord, but can also be destructive to society because their consciences and hearts are closed off. Their pride and arrogance is so large that they have no ability to see their sin or their relationship to the triune God. They may learn other types of knowledge, but in terms of the Lord and true wisdom, they are unteachable. But even through disciplining scoffers, others who haven't come to know the Lord may learn from that and, therefore, there is hope of repentance and change for them. As they see what happens from the scoffer's folly or even through a legal process of discipline, they may learn and get on the Lord's path. I pray that women open their eyes see the destruction and deterioration of our society today caused by such people and can learn from it, following God more closely as they continue to seek wisdom.

Psalm 1 - Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields it's fruit in its season, and it's lead does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Jesus was this blessed man. He is the tree and we are engrafted by his grace. And as his people, we too love the instruction of our Father, which instructs and corrects us for our eternal good.

Psalm 36:9 - For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.

I pray for women resist the enemy, the scoffers and their lies and destructive ways and to do what God calls them to do. Only God can truly satisfy the human heart. He is our creator and knows what is best for us. There wI'll be challenges in our lives but we need to keep taking up our cross daily. There is nothing better than yielding to His will in our lives! I am thankful for teachers like yourself that have the courage and wisdom to shine light on what is true.
6 replies · active 465 weeks ago
Beautifully written Lori :) It can be so difficult to know how to gently answer others' objections.
1 reply · active 465 weeks ago
What an interesting comment... after studying Proverbs 31 in depth, and during writing out this series verse by verse to help wives grow to become truly virtuous women, her beliefs about God's vision for wives and on the Proverbs 31 wife is skewed.

""Proverbs 31 also states women are to be hard working not lazy and only staying home doing nothing, but to be productive. How can a godly woman influence and speak for others by staying home living in a bubble? How can our children compete in this world and succeed, if women and mothers also don’t contribute financially? What is the point if sending girls to get an education if their only goal is to stay home and do nothing but housework? "

Staying home and managing a home well, is all part of doing lots of work, planning, scheduling, and yes, MANAGING. It is great work and is not "doing nothing." There probably are some women who stay home and do nothing... but they are not virtuous women living out Proverbs 31.

And no, she's not supposed to live in her own bubble, how ignorant of the life of a virtuous, Proverbs 31 woman! She is SUPPOSED to minister to others, the servants in her house (to us that translates to anyone she meets when out running errands like the grocery attendants, cleaning people, anyone in a service-related job that waits on her and her family or processes her orders etc.) she ministers to them by how she treats them... leaving a lasting impression on them of what a godly woman looks like.

She also ministers by "extending her hands to the poor," so no... a virtuous wife that's at home does not just stay home 24/7, she may take her children with her to visit the elderly, giving them an education that we're called to look out for people in desperate situations. She may take her children with her as she donates things they don't need. Whatever it means in that Proverbs 31 passage about her extending her hands to the poor, I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean that she lives in her own bubble.

And this poor woman actually thinks that stay at home wives don't contribute financially. That is truly sad and very much wrong! After studying this passage in depth, there are MANY ways that a virtuous stay at home wife can contribute to her household financially, without ever having a job outside the home. She is the manager of their household after all, so how her husband lets her handle cutting costs and being frugal determines much of her contribution. He may actually be like my husband and allow me to make savings and investment decisions - or plant a garden so that they don't have to spend so much money on groceries that she can produce in her own yard. I've figured out the math that I'm saving my husband $260 a year on groceries. That's just with a little bit grown, once we get it more established, the contribution should double that amount! And yea, one could argue that it doesn't seem like much, but for a family that's trying to save and live on one income, it's definitely considered a contribution. And if you aggressively invest that money, that can also make it multiply. We are also saving money by not having our children in daycare, and our oldest has greatly benefited from me staying home with him and teaching him getting him ready for school. A stay at home wife can also help her husband by creating her own small business in her house that she runs from home. We know quite a few stay at home wives who actually do that successfully, and their contributions to the family are huge because they're making money AND pouring so much love and care into their children's lives. It sounds harsh, but they are able to do more than a wife who is working out of the home. It's sad to me that women don't realize the enormous contribution they can make to their family and their husband if they choose to stay at home.
1 reply · active 465 weeks ago
I completely agree with what the Bible teaches about women that we should be keepers of the home, obedient to our husbands etc. I do have conflict in my heart though when I think of how much of a blessing it is to me to have a female midwife and female doctors and nurses. What are your thoughts about this?
4 replies · active 465 weeks ago
Although I fundamentally agree with much of your teaching, Lori, I find myself often becoming distracted by the delivery of the messages. You have such an effective way of selecting your topics. However, it's all about grace-think of the multitude you could reach by stating your truths in a slightly softer way! What an impact you could have on women of all ages! Don't cast stones-cast a net, as our Lord did. He met people where they were and showed them his wisdom and grace. What a wonderful teacher and example-compassionate and understanding!
9 replies · active 465 weeks ago
Enjoyed your post Lori ~ Spot on and some people don't like truth when it affects the way they want to do things...
1 reply · active 465 weeks ago
Loved the post once again. God has really been showing me lately the foolishness of the world and its 'wisdom' and the foolishness of those who follow a watered down or pick and choose gospel. And yet God's word is so consistent. It makes so much sense....
1 reply · active 465 weeks ago
I actually do find you very sweet, and I do think it comes across with your writing. Maybe that comes from the appreciation and love I have for you and your ministry. I wouldn't be the woman/wife/mother I am today had I not found you. :)
1 reply · active 465 weeks ago

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