What Will I Do About It?

Blogging along, I’ve found that usually what I want to tell the world has already been said by someone else who can explain it more clearly, express it more concisely, and deliver it with more authority than I. In one post I pondered whether that is the reason many of my entries are quotes, book recommendations, or links to other resources.

Sometimes, however, I need to attempt to articulate something solid.

When Lisa of Longbourn commented on the post "What Will We Do About It?" I knew that a reply was in order. I am likely to complain and "curse the darkness" when reading quotes like the one I posted. For that reason, I sent Mr. Phillips' words out into the world wide web accessorized with an open question, intending to spark thoughtful consideration rather than the pessimism I am so prone to don.

Someone thoughtfully considered!

Lisa says,

"But yes, what can we do?
I want ideas. What do people want from me? What does God want?
I didn't do anything to make my culture this messed up. Out of compassion and frustration I want to change the world, but I don't know how.

With no claim to have all the answers but to seeking the God who does, I offer my thoughts on what I should be doing about our messed-up culture. I'd like to organize those thoughts by breaking down the original quote by Douglas Phillips.

We can say that it’s under our watch, as this generation, that we’re seeing the single greatest devastating impact on family life in the history of Christendom...

First, the unbiblical condition of our culture is not only the fault of those who embrace it. It's "under our watch." Some of this culture's participants have neither seen the Biblical family model in scripture nor observed it exemplified. That's my problem. Matthew 5:13-16 calls me salt and a light that cannot go unseen. I should be speaking God's Word for that culture to hear (Psalm 119:172). I should be living God's Word for that culture to see (Matthew 5:16).
My personal inclination is to become discouraged and angry with what I've termed "the culture." But I'm part of it when I'm complaining. The very way that I live does something about this culture; it either contributes to the devastation or counteracts it.

• ours is the generation that’s redefining marriage

• ours is the generation that has sent the largest number of women out of the home into the workplace, thus transforming the nature of the family
  

• ours is the generation in which men have set aside their duty as defenders and allowed women to go out to the field of battle protecting the home
  

• ours is the generation that has an unprecedented divorce rate

  And the list goes on and on.

There's a place to battle these bullets (pun unintended) publicly, politically, separately. But my primary calling is to live out Biblical womanhood, effectively smiting the entire feminist philosophy behind the ammunition (Eph. 6:12).
Biblical womanhood is simply God's plan for women as defined by Him in the Bible. Feminism is its diametric opposite. I want my life to be exemplary of Biblical womanhood; therefore, I want my life to be in stark opposition to feminism. Here are some examples of how I want my life to oppose feminism.

• Feminism promotes dominance; I want my life to be a statement of submission. (1 Cor. 16:1; Eph. 5:22; Col. 3:18; Heb. 13:17; James 4:7; 1 Pet. 2:13; 1 Pet. 5:5)
• Feminism preaches independence; I want my life to display dependence on God. (Psalm 5:11; 36:7; 37:5; 40:4; Prov. 3:5-6)
• Feminism aims for androgynous egalitarianism; I want my life to be distinctly feminine, a relfection of the fact that God has sovereignly ordained unique and noninterchangeable roles for men and women. (Deut. 22:5; Gen. 3:16-17; 1 Tim. 5:8; Titus 2:1-8; Eph. 5:21-33)
• Feminism is all about individualism; I want my life to be about serving others, particularly the family God has placed me in. (Prov. 31:11-12, 15, 20-21; Phil. 2:2-4; John 13:34; Rom. 12:24; Mark 12:30-31)
• Feminism tauts a proud, brash self-confidence; I want my life to exude a meek and quiet spirit. (Psalm 18:27; 25:9; 147:6; Prov. 11:2; 29:23; James 4:6,10; 1 Pet. 5:6; Matt. 5:5; 1 Pet. 3:4)
• Feminism does, says, and wears what is convenient, complimentary, and comfortable to one's self; I want to do, say, and wear that which honors God and others. (1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Cor. 8:9, 10:23; Col. 4:6; 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:8)
  
• Feminism sees children as an optional burden; I want my life to present them as a blessing. (Gen. 1:28; 9:1; 16:10; 17:2; 28:3; Psalm 127:3)

Because I am by default part of the culture, changing the culture has to start with me.
But the exciting companion to that statement is this one:
Merely living a counter-culturally Biblical, feminine life is an assault on the culture's ungodly ideologies including feminism, humanism, and me-ism. That's a big "merely."

The problem with Christians today is they think that’s normal.
It is not normal.
It is crisis-level.

If a girl lives the "normal" Christian life as described in the Bible, she seems totally abnormal to the world. That's okay. "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
Unfortunately, if a girl lives the "normal" Christian life as described in the Bible, she's likely the "abnormal" one even among her church family. That's not okay.
But I'm part of that church family just as I'm part of the culture. My job is to live God's normal and encourage others to do the same.
By God's grace, many ladies are striving to live and encourage one another in God's description of womanhood in their churches, among their peers, and even through their blogs. In the context of Biblical femininity, they may be the only salt they know about, and they may feel like the only little light in the world. But their lives are still an offensive against that wicked culture we've been referring to.

My initial question wasn't "What can we do about it?" but rather "What will we do about it?" That's a challenge to myself. I know how I can live my life, by God's grace. It's a matter of whether or not I will.

Lisa, thank you for your remarks! They have prodded me to consider more seriously and search the scriptures more deeply for answers to my own question.

I welcome responses from others willing to share what they will do about family-devastating culture we're salt and light in.

In conclusion, I think that Lisa of Longbourn's best question was, "What does God want?"

I leave the answer to Micah 6:8.

"What does the LORD require of you but
to do justice,
to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?"

"Sand Castles" on YLCF

Young Ladies Christian Fellowship recently published an article that spoke exactly what I needed at the moment. I have actually re-read "Sand Castles" several times.

"...It is so hard sometimes to be satisfied in where God has placed me. To be content. Have you ever been 26 years old and still so very single? Never had a kiss stolen, never held hands with a man in mutual affection. I've never been chosen by a man. I've been waiting a long time..." more

Today a follow-up was posted, sharing comments from readers. I found those heart-felt responses to be as touching as the original.
Yet even as I read words of comfort from other young ladies who wait for their opportunity to serve the Lord as godly wives and mothers, my raging mind brought up the same old doubts and fears. Someone mentioned a sister marrying at nearly forty; I thought, "What's the point of that? I want to spend my life raising lots of children for the Lord! Forty's a little late to be beginning." Others mentioned that marriage is difficult just as singleness is difficult; I thought, "Yeah, well, that's easy to say when you're not in the singleness part anymore. It's easy to say 'be content in waiting' after you've discovered that there was someone out there for you. Not so easy when the possibility exists that you may never have what you're waiting for." And on and on came the waves of faithless arguments from my own worst enemy-- my deceitful, desperately wicked heart.
Praise the Lord for His Holy Spirit bringing to remembrance another onslaught of waves that occurred long ago. My doubts quieted, and my thoughts returned serenely to God's sovereign faithfulness at three words:
"Peace, be still."