Women
The media in our feministic society is constantly bombarding women about being fashionable, career-minded and behaving seductively. But what does the Bible say about the way women should conduct themselves?
Woman was created by God to be a suitable helper for man. The first woman was formed by God using the rib of Adam, the first man. This means that within a marriage the woman is, according to Ephesians 5:24, to be subject to her husband in everything (except disobeying God!) – a teaching much disliked in our society today.
As all women know, fashions are constantly changing at such an alarming rate that it is a struggle to follow them. However, Christians are now new creations in Christ and so, by the way we clothe ourselves, we should be careful to ‘adorn [ourselves] in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation’ (1 Timothy 2:9).
This means we do not dress in order to be showy, although it is legitimate to use our clothing as an expression of our different taste and personalities. Furthermore, we should make sure our clothing is not a stumbling block to others, because we are commanded in Romans 14:21 not to ‘do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak’.
Qualities
It seems to me as a university student that the message incessantly being given to women is that we should be fighting to get as high up the prestigious career ladder as possible. Well, work is important, as God gave the first job of work to Adam in Genesis 2 – to name the animals. Nevertheless, work should always take second place to God.
Matthew 6:33 tells us to ‘seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness’. This means, for example, that if a promotion means compromising on one of God’s commandments we should obey God rather than men, and pass over that chance of promotion.
Proverbs 31:10-31 describes the virtuous wife. Her qualities are a good guide to how we should strive to conduct ourselves.
Firstly, she works hard to provide for her family. Secondly, she has compassion on the poor (Psalm 82:3 tells us to ‘defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy’).
Thirdly, her words are wise and kind; our words should be as ‘pleasant words … like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones’ (Proverbs 16:24). Fourthly, and most importantly, she fears God. This is ‘the beginning of wisdom’ (Proverbs 9:10).
Therefore let us remember, despite what we are told by others, that in God’s eyes ‘charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised’ (Proverbs 31:30).
Naomi Fay
