Proverbs
7:10-12
And, behold, there met him a woman with the
attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not
in her house:
Now is she without, now in the streets, and
lieth in wait at every corner.)
Once
again we can take a look at how we, as Christian women, should not present
ourselves in this world. This woman was
not necessarily a harlot but certainly her dress was similar. When I was a young single Christian I was
frustrated because it seemed that all of the godly guys were never interested in
me and only those guys in my church who wanted one thing would approach
me. I came before the Lord and
asked Him about this matter. He led me
to a book by my pastor at the time and through the book told me that you catch
whatever fish you bait your hook for. I
was reminded that if I looked like I was carnal, others would perceive me as
this. Although the Lord does truly look
on the heart, we must realize that “...man looketh on the outward appearance.”
(1 Sam 16:7)
Modesty
is an issue always in vogue among Christian ladies, single and married. A
Christian guy friend of mine in college once told me to use John the Baptist’s
motto as a guideline. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John
3:30 ) When we are at the beach on a hot August day and we wear a long-sleeved
turtleneck and sweats we will draw attention to our bodies. If we show up in even modest shorts and a
t-shirt at a wedding we will increase in presence and get people’s eyes upon
us. One thing we can do is to take a
portion of time and seek the Lord on His standards for our clothing based on
our shape, culture and frame. Take some
time to sit in your room and ask Jesus to be the final authority on all in your
life. Ask Him for a humble mind and open
heart for His instruction in righteousness.
Go to your closet and dresser and lay each item of clothing out and ask
Him what He says about it. He will guide
you continually and truly if we acknowledge Him in all our ways, even clothing,
He will direct our paths.
Another
attribute we see in this woman is that she is
loud and stubborn. This word ‘loud’ tells us that she draws
attention to herself in word and action.
Her presence intrudes on those who approach her. This is very desired by the world we live in. We must resist the temptation to make a name
for ourselves, to speak all of our mind, to demand our own way and be the
center of attention. This is not the way
of a woman who wants to please her Lord.
This loudness has to do with clamor, rage and moaning. Do we complain and seek our own interests
above others? Do we have to be heard or
we will make others listen to us? Let us
stop and in the quietness of our heart receive the Lord’s steadfast love
allowing ourselves to take back seat to His presence and others’ interests.
She is also described as stubborn. The same Hebrew word used in
this proverb is also used in Psalm 78:8: “And might not be as their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart
aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.” We see that stubbornness is associated
with a heart that is not right as well as a spirit who is not steadfast with
God. As women of Christ we must be sure
to have our hearts open and searched by His Spirit and Word. When we do this and encounter His correction
we find ourselves much more ready to admit when we are wrong and yield to
better ways. When our spirit is not set
to receive from our God and we have interrupted fellowship with the Lord we
will be tempted to lean on our own understanding. This will result in having a higher opinion
of ourselves and creating a stubborn self-willed attitude.
This
woman is found out in the streets. Our culture tries in every way to get us away
from the home. We must know why we are
leaving our home and that the Lord has sent us there. This woman was wandering without purpose and
because of that she entered into a dangerous place of flirting with sin. We don’t need to ‘hang out’ at the mall or
‘hang out’ at church. Go there with a
reason. Whether it is to purchase a
specific item or spend time with your children, do it with a purpose and be
sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading in reaching your world for Christ.
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