Feminine Appeal
I just finished reading this book by Carolyn Mahaney. It's subtitled "Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother". The author grounds the book in the passage from Titus 2 about how women are to conduct themselves. Here are the seven virtues that she goes into detail about:
1. The Delight of Loving My Husband
2. The Blessings of Loving My Children
3. The Safety of Self-Control
4. The Pleasure of Purity
5. The Honor of Working at Home
6. The Rewards of Kindness
7. The Beauty of Submission
There wasn't much "earth-shattering" about this book. Nothing I didn't already know. Just helpful encouragement in the areas that women need the most encouragement in. What wife doesn't need to hear over and over again how important it is to truly help and submit to her husband? The times we live in make it even more difficult. I remember being newly married, and my husband asking me to do something to help him that he could have easily done himself. I remember wondering if he thought I was just there to do his bidding, dropping whatever I was working on at the time to help him. Boy, did I need an attitude adjustment! I don't claim to always have the perfect attitude now, but by God's grace I have definitely come a long way.
Our culture has given us this idea that being a helper and submitting to another person is degrading and relegates us to second-class citizens. The author points out that this is not something that men made up for their own benefit - God uses the husband and wife relationship to illustrate the relationship between Christ and the church.
Another issue in today's culture is respect. Wives are to respect their husbands. You never see this modeled on any of the sitcoms on tv! The author quotes from a Douglas Wilson book: "Women are fully capable of loving a man, and sacrificing for him, while believing the entire time that he is a true and unvarnished jerk. Women are good at this kind of love." Ouch! Doesn't the truth hurt? Here is what Mahaney says to that: "...Scripture's mandate to love our husbands involves far more than merely doing household chores. We are required to love them with nothing less than a passionate, tender, affectionate kind of love."
All good reminders and good encouragement on some very relevant topics.
1. The Delight of Loving My Husband
2. The Blessings of Loving My Children
3. The Safety of Self-Control
4. The Pleasure of Purity
5. The Honor of Working at Home
6. The Rewards of Kindness
7. The Beauty of Submission
There wasn't much "earth-shattering" about this book. Nothing I didn't already know. Just helpful encouragement in the areas that women need the most encouragement in. What wife doesn't need to hear over and over again how important it is to truly help and submit to her husband? The times we live in make it even more difficult. I remember being newly married, and my husband asking me to do something to help him that he could have easily done himself. I remember wondering if he thought I was just there to do his bidding, dropping whatever I was working on at the time to help him. Boy, did I need an attitude adjustment! I don't claim to always have the perfect attitude now, but by God's grace I have definitely come a long way.
Our culture has given us this idea that being a helper and submitting to another person is degrading and relegates us to second-class citizens. The author points out that this is not something that men made up for their own benefit - God uses the husband and wife relationship to illustrate the relationship between Christ and the church.
Another issue in today's culture is respect. Wives are to respect their husbands. You never see this modeled on any of the sitcoms on tv! The author quotes from a Douglas Wilson book: "Women are fully capable of loving a man, and sacrificing for him, while believing the entire time that he is a true and unvarnished jerk. Women are good at this kind of love." Ouch! Doesn't the truth hurt? Here is what Mahaney says to that: "...Scripture's mandate to love our husbands involves far more than merely doing household chores. We are required to love them with nothing less than a passionate, tender, affectionate kind of love."
All good reminders and good encouragement on some very relevant topics.
1 Comments:
Yes,yes
Post a Comment
<< Home