Excuses?

I wonder why we excuse ourselves from following the God's directions for our lives, which are written in the Word so clearly, but we expect our children to follow what we say and be obedient to our directions??! I write this humbly and with the fear of the Lord, because I know how much I fall short… but, it's kinda crazy. And completely hypocritical. I get so bothered when my almost 5 year old disobeys me when she knows the right thing to do...and there are ‘clear as day’ instructions for how I should live and do things, but I, like tons of christian women/people, just don't do it. And then call is ‘grace.’

 We have enough sense to recognize when our children disobey us and not just let it slide and call is 'grace,' don't we? So why do we do that and think we'll be alright?! We won't and things don’t turn out well when we pattern our lives like that. It's sin and we need to repent and change.  For me, I've come across a list of scripture instructions for women who claim to be devoted to God. I'm praying that God would help me and change my mind about my own ways and help me be obedient to his directions. Here they are…probably not all, but a lot.

Biblical Instructions for Women

1 Corinthians 14:34-35:  “Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive just as the law says. If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings.”

1 Timothy 2:9-15: “And I want women to be modest in their appearance. {or pray in modest apparel}They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. Women should learn quietly and submissively. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. {teach men or usurp their authority} Let them listen quietly. For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result. But the women will be saved through childbearing {or will be saved by accepting their role as mothers, or will be saved by the birth of the Child}, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.”

1 Timothy 3: 11 : “In the same way, their wives {or the women deacons} must be respected and must not slander others. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do.”

Proverbs 5:18-19: “Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satistfy you always. May you always be captivated by her love.”

Proverbs 9:13-18: “The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t even know it. She sits in her doorway on the heights overlooking the city. She calls out to men going by who are minding their own business. “Come in with me” she urges the simple. To those who lack good judgement, she says, “Stolen water is refreshing; food eaten in secret tasted the best! But little do they know that they dead are there. Her guests are in the depths of the grave.”

Proverbs 11:16: “A gracious woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.”

Proverbs 12:4: “A worthy wife is a crown for her husband, but a disgraceful woman is like cancer in his bones.”

Proverbs 14:1: “A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.”

Proverbs 18:22: “The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord.”

Proverbs 19:13-14: “A foolish child is a calamity to a father; a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping.”

Proverbs 21:9 & 19: “It’s better to live alone in a corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.” “It’s better to live alone in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining wife.”

Proverbs 23:27-28: “A prostitute is a dangerous trap; a promiscuous woman is as dangerous as falling into a narrow well. She hides and waits like a robber, eager to make more men unfaithful.”

Proverbs 24:3-4: “A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.”

Proverbs 27:15-16: “A quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping on a rainy day. Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind or trying to hold something with greased hands.”

Proverbs 30:20: “An adulterous woman consumes as man, then wipes her mouth and says, ‘what’s wrong with that?’ “

Proverbs 31:10-31: “Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious thatn rubies. Her husband can trust her and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good and not harm, all the days of her life. She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchants ship bringing her food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the days work for her servant girls. She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard. She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night. Her hans are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber. She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes. She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders. She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise and she gives instructions with kindness. She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her. ‘There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all.’ Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.”

1 Corinthians 7:3-6: “The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s sexual needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband give authority over his body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. I say this as a concession, not as a command.”

1 Corinthians 7:39-40: “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes but only if he loves the Lord. But in my opinion it would be better for her to stay single, and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.”

1 Corinthians 11:3-15: “But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. A man dishonors his head {or Christ} if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. But a woman dishonors her head {or her husband} if she prays or prophesies without covering her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.{or should have long hair}. A man should not wear anything on his head when worshipping, for man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory. A woman reflects man’s glory. For the first man did not come from woman, but the first woman came from man. And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man. For this reason, and because angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority. But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God.  Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head? Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair? And isn’t long hair a woman’s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering. But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches.”

Ephesians 5:22-24, 33: “For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.” “So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

Colossians 3:18: “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.”

1 Timothy 5:5, 9-16: “Now a true widow, a woman who is truly alone in this world, has placed her hope in God. She prays night and day, asking God for his help. But the widow who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead even while she lives.” “A widow who is put on the list for support must be a woman who is at least 60 years old and was faithful to her husband. {or was the wife of one husband}. She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers and her served other believers humbly? Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good? The younger widows should not be on the list, because their physical desires will overpower their devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry. Then they would be quilty of breaking their previous pledge. And if they are on the list, they will learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people’s business and talking about things they shouldn’t. SO I advise these younger widows to marry again, have children and take care of their own homes. Then the enemy will not be able to say anything against them. For I am afraid that some of them have already gone astray and now follow Satan. If a woman who is a believer has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for the widows who are truly alone.”

Titus 2:3-5: “Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes{or care for their home}, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the Word of God.”

1 Peter 3:1-6: “In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband Abraham, and called him master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.”

I encourage you to take some time to study these and ask the Lord how you might change some things in your life as well! Let's be zealous to not only live in the freedom of Christ, but to love God, by obeying his commands. {1 John 5:3} "This is love for God; to obey his commands."