Steadfast despite the church “Ladies” (For E.)

This place has got fairly bleak, and times are getting darker. The social media are being censored, Within the church it is becoming more and more hard to stay faithful to your roles and your vows without the church ladies giving you the look. Elspeth gives us a good example of what happens when one does their duty in the modern church.

Somehow the conversation turned to a familiar refrain

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— John Ferguson Smart (@wakaleo) November 2, 2014

: how hard it must be for my husband to live in a house full of women. How he must always be twisting himself to keep us happy, how much we cost, the typical *stuff*.

My daughter replied to one of the jokes:

“Not really. He doesn’t obey us. We do what he tells us to do.”

One of the women corrected her:

“No, not all of you have to do what he says. You and your sisters have to do what he says. Your mother is grown.”

My husband, as is his nature, remained silent as the scene unfolded, as did the other men in attendance.

Sigh. That’s what I did on the inside. I’m increasingly being faced with these moments; moments where I am left to decide whether to remain silent or speak up. I spoke up:

“That’s not true. God’s word commands me to obey my husband, so I must obey my husband.”

You could hear a pin drop. Men walked off, my husband somehow remained stoic, and I was treated to three variations of this look[1]

The church women are wrong. E. is correct. We are told to remain faithful to the rules of our faith, to be steadfast in the face of opposition.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

(James 1:1-15 ESV)

I would go further. If you are not wise, if you are confused, you are disobedient. You will not get wisdom until you seek to obey God. Not perfectly: if that was the case I would be the biggest hypocrite in creation.

The reason us men are silent is not because we agree to the bitchiness and frank disobedience that is now happening among the church ladies. It is because we have no interest in an emotional meltdown, and we want to remain faithful to the word, despite the feminists who have tried to ruin the church.

And this is our trial: to remain faithful while our society is faithless, and (secondarily) to teach our children the same thing. James was writing to a persecuted church. Let us pray this church revives before persecution again has its season.
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1. E. had a perfect example of the look at her blog. Then she had a pile of commentators pile in on her. Probably best I do not go ovah and correct them… or I will make breakfast first.