Tag Archives: Woman

Well-Groomed for God's Glory

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In my 39th week of pregnancy, countless numbers of people have told me that I should be sitting down and allowing people to wait on me. They’ve also been surprised that I am well-groomed because if any time in your life you have license to look out of sorts it is when you’re pregnant; everyone understands that you just may not have felt like pulling yourself together, and they will excuse you. Well, I have been blessed to have a wonderful pregnancy and didn’t need to take license to have my hair and clothes looking any kind of way. But even if I did feel horrible, I would have to make a way so that I would be well-groomed because I want to strive to glorify God at all times.

Do all to the glory of God

I had someone challenge me on my previous blog entry where I stated we as Christians should do our best to look our best because we are God’s representatives. He wanted to know was I making dressing well a prescription for all Christians and then wondered where the scruffy John the Baptist fit into my premise. John the Baptist was an exception because he was called to be a Nazarite. And because God called him to an ascetic lifestyle, his obedience, including his clothes of camel’s hair and a leather belt, gave glory to God. With that said, I guess you can argue that being well-groomed is based on God’s personal calling for your life and even on cultural norms. So, if God didn’t call you to a Nazarite life and you live where good grooming means, at the bare minimum, wearing clean and neat clothes, being neat and clean is what I believe we need to do in order to give God glory.

Test your vanity

Don’t confuse giving God glory with seeking vainglory. One woman said that my previous blog post gave her “another healthy reason” to keep herself looking good. And we better make sure that we have a healthy focus. Too often we can trick ourselves into believing that we have to own a piece of clothing or wear the perfect outfit in order to give God glory. Remember the basics of neat and clean, the bare minimum that expresses you care about the look of your temple of God. We are told not to do anything to bring us glory so don’t go overboard with your look. Make sure you let your eternal light be your guide.

Shine your light

Ezra told the Israelites “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” He said this on the heels of having to encourage them not to be sad but to celebrate because they understood God’s word. We, too, should celebrate, even through our appearance, because we understand God’s word, the basic message being 1) that Jesus died for our sins; 2) we who accepted his sacrifice knew we needed a savior so we repented of our sins; and 3) because of our acceptance of his sacrifice and repentance of our sins we can live blessed lives on earth and will spend eternity in heaven because Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, our light within. This is the joy of the Lord, that gladness that comes from God that keeps and protects us. I want to express this reality to people. This joy is within me but should manifest outside of me in my behavior, my smile, my talk, my walk (the way I treat people) and the way I adorn my body. So good grooming for the Christian starts from within, from a soul that has said yes to Jesus and wants people to know about the goodness of His salvation. Our focus should always be about attracting people to us so we can attract people to Jesus. Certainly we can do this by being well-groomed.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Look Your Best

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“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

What do you think these scriptures have in common? Immediately your mind may think not to abuse your body, like with sex, drugs and alcohol. And this is true, but what about when you add this scripture: “. . . .[S]he is clothed in fine linen and purple” (Proverbs 31:22), describing the clothes that the Proverbs 31 woman wore? Without a doubt, I believe these show us that we should honor God with how our bodies look physically. We need to be well-groomed.

In the Bible, linen and purple were symbols of status. Though people of all classes wore linen, most times when linen was mentioned was in reference to wealthy people. And purple was an expensive dye so this was a color for the wealthy.* What we also see is that the priests of God wore linen and purple, symbols for God’s highest servants. Anyone who has been reading my blog knows that I am not advocating for believers of Jesus Christ to seek wealth or even to fake wealth until we can make wealth. But what I am saying is that we, as priests of God, should do all within our power and means to look put together because we house the almighty God in our bodies. We are hosting Him and He should have a house that is well-groomed; we don’t skimp on cleaning our physical homes when honored guests come. How much more then should we take care of our bodies, the temple of the Holy Ghost, to provide a fine vessel for our Lord?

Sometimes people just don’t care. They say they aren’t trying to impress anybody. Your hair, makeup and wardrobe aren’t to impress anyone but they are to represent the only one who has given you life, and through your representation of Him, you just may draw others to want life in Him. Do your best to look your best. You may just be helping to save a life in the process.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

*Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (1998), Ryken et. al., eds.

Cut the Fuss

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I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

If I hear one more “If she. . .” or “But she. . .” after someone has said she has forgiven her sister, I just might scream. Dwelling on the offense is an offense in itself. It debilitates the speaker, slanders the original offender, gives credence to Christianity being weak, and wastes time in the battle for souls for Christ. I want a change; so I, like Paul, plead with the sisters who are beefing to be of the same mind in the Lord, and I urge others with influence to help any women they see bickering, giving more attention to their beef than to the cause of Christ.

Help them drop their nets.

Yes, Jesus told His disciples to drop their nets—meaning to give up their jobs, to follow Him. But some of us need to drop our nets of bickering because this can be a full-time job for us. We give so much attention to the detail of our fleshly battle that we have become all-consumed, just like the attention we give to full-time work. Drop your net and agree with each other in the Lord to continue “in the cause of the gospel.”

Paul wanted Euodia and Syntyche to work out their differences by focusing on the Lord. What does the Lord say about us getting along? This should be our focus. When we focus on our feelings and the offenses and can’t get pass them, we are exalting these issues above God. They have become idols that God tells us to tear down. We must tear them down not just so the world sees our harmony but that we might have harmony to do God’s work together. I believe this is what Paul was having these Christians focus on: God and his work that needs to be done. He first said he wanted Euodia and Syntyche to agree but not just agree in any way (going along to get along) but agreeing in the Lord (renewing their minds to line up with Jesus’ thoughts and actions). This is the only way that we can reach out to a dying world and rescue people from the grips of the enemy.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Unnatural Affection

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As I pondered my lesson for the women’s ministry service this week for the “World is in Your Womb” series (lessons on motherhood) at my church, I continued to be struck with Pastor Renee’s notion of maternal vision and blind parenting. In my message I kept that theme going as I looked at the biblical mothers Jochebed (Moses’ mom) (Exodus 2:1-10) and Rebekah (Jacob and Esau’s mom) (Genesis 25:19-34; 27). Jochebed represented the one with maternal vision and Rebekah was the blind mother.

I found that Jochebed was selfless, because she was
1. Cooperative. She didn’t fight against what God showed her about Moses. She went out of her way to ensure the best for her son.
2. Concentrated. She maintained her focus on her plans to save Moses. She never gave up but continued to be diligent.
3. Careful. She was meticulous with her efforts. She took her time like a skilled craftsman.

Opposite Jochebed was Rebekah, who was selfish, because her efforts were
1. Comfortable. She did what felt good to her.
2. Convenient. She did what came easy for her. She didn’t trust God with the unknown but worked to make prophecy come to pass in her own strength.
3. Calculating. She spent a great amount of time figuring out how to scheme, a method that was within her reach.

So though we must strive to be like Jochebed, there are a lot of reasons we fail and are blind mothers. Pastor Renee outlined these practical reasons in her blog post on Monday, which is definitely where Rebekah fell, but I want us to consider spiritual implications:

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) (italics mine).

So while we are working hard against our natural selfish tendencies, we must also work hard against our two other enemies, the world and the devil. These perilous times have come and mothers now lack “natural affection” for their children. A mother should naturally want her children, care for her children, fight for her children, and raise her children to be the best they can be. But this lacking of natural affection has entered our cultural landscape, has spread into Christianity, and has made many of us challenge the biblical notions of nurturing our children. What we are up against is more than a flesh and cultural war but a spiritual battle that only God’s word can equip us to handle. Timothy tells us to “turn away” from people who don’t have natural affection. This includes you turning away from the you that lacks natural affection and seeking God to restore to you what is essentially your birthright as a mother.

So I urge you mothers to gird your loins with truth, and put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand Satan’s schemes that have duped many of us to believe that it’s okay to be a Rebekah and too much work to be a Jochebed (Ephesians 6:10-18). Don’t fall for his lies but believe that God can restore to you natural affection for your children so you raise them to be the godly seed that they are supposed to be.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith