The Heart of Biblical Womanhood
An article I skimmed at Boundless this morning, about the heart of biblical masculinity, made me ponder correspondingly the heart of what it means to be a woman of God. It’s easy to focus on the outer trappings of biblical womanhood, the applications of how it is played out in the home and the family and the church. It’s much too easy to constantly debate over what exactly true femininity looks like. I’ve written before about how passionate I am for biblical womanhood, and that includes appropriate relationship roles and modesty and so much more.
But what is the heart of it all, the impetus for our actions, the wellspring of life lived as a godly woman?
It is, of course, God Himself! Our Father, Savior, Keeper, and sovereign Lord. The reason that we want to dress modestly and marry godly men and honor our husbands (future or current) and submit to male leadership in the church and cultivate our inner beauty is not so that others will look at us and think, “Wow, what an amazing woman! I wish I could be like her!” We want others to look at us and think, “Wow, what an amazing God we have! I want to know Him like she does!”
And that means that our satisfaction has to be found in Him, that our hearts have to be set on Him, that we have to be drawing our fulfillment and joy from Him, and that the outward trappings of godly womanhood should be the result of joyful obedience to Him, not a shallow desire for the praise of people.
My motives in my striving for “biblical womanhood” are so often completely self-focused. And the results of that kind of mindset are so shallow and worthless. I may have the admiration of others, but if my heart is ugly before God, the whole thing is completely pointless. Satan himself was the most beautiful of the angels, and his resulting pride is the very reason he fell. I pray God will deliver me from grooming myself to be a “godly woman” when all I really want is the adulation of others. What a cunning, deceitful, and heinous sin.
In our strivings after godliness, may our hearts be focused on Him. May we find joy in knowing that His way is the best way, and in bringing Him glory through our obedience and love.
Filed under: Biblical Femininity on September 26th, 2007
AMEN.
You can tell how passionate you are about this subject just by your writing–have you ever considered writing about biblical womanhood professionally? Just a thought.
Great entry, though–it’s truth, plain and simple.
Wow! What an amazing, gracious God we have! How thankful I am that you know Him like you do.
I love how your posts get to the point without being too long or too short.
True - how can I really be a woman of God if I’m running after these “biblical” pursuits themselves instead of focusing on Him and letting the rest be an extension of that relationship?