Femina

Gullible Women

Nancy Wilson

or know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:1-6).

The Present Condition

American women today are indeed gullible. They have been captivated by the lies promulgated by the modern world and have succumbed in many ways to the humanistic mindset. Who are the deceivers? They are lovers of themselves, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure. The modern woman has been deceived, like Eve, and led away by her own lusts from her God-given domain and her God-ordained responsibilities. Loaded down with sin -- discontent, envy -- she is promised freedom and happiness if she will just forsake her domain -- the home -- and neglect her responsibilities -- husband and children.

Background

What are some of the lies she has been told? Fruitfulness is bad; children wreck the budget and the figure. Marriage is a partnership; submission is for imbeciles. Being a homemaker is for airheads who can't make it in the business world. Women are not designed with a unique purpose, but should and can compete with men on any level. The most important thing is to have a healthy self-image and to have your deepest needs met. If they are not being met by your husband, find someone else. The old femininity is outdated. The new femininity dictates that women should look capable, confident, and, at all costs, young and sexy.

Failure of Non-Biblical Solutions

How does this sort of thinking creep into our households? The media indoctrinate us daily. The news berates biblical views of wives and motherhood. Popular film and entertainment programs call women to war against men and husbands. They exalt the "modern woman" and neglect or ridicule the mother at home.

A friend of mine was taking an English course at a government university and was told on one of the first days of class that no sexist language would be tolerated in student papers. What was the instructor's definition of sexist language? "Mother." The class was told that they could not use the term mother in their writing, but must use the politically correct term, "parent." In other words, they could not write The mother baked the cookies, but must write The parent baked the cookies. The feminist agenda is rampant in the government schools from kindergarten through graduate school.

One can easily identify the weak-willed woman who has been lead astray by this damnable teaching. She has sacrificed the children and marriage, her calling and responsibilities for her own lusts. She has been deceived and is deceiving others. In her frenzied quest for success and approval from the world, she has lost the very thing she tried to gain: a blessed peace and satisfaction. After the career and the wardrobe and the membership in the health spa and the second car and the vacation, there is still a miserable void. All the romance novels on the rack can't fill it. Where to look ? Presto! We immediately have a tremendous market for more deception by way of the latest feel-good psycho-babble: seminars and books and expensive counseling weekends are the next step. Here she can talk about all of her needs and frustrations. Here she can learn how to cope with lack of fulfillment. Here she can learn how to get back on speaking terms with her husband and children. Or maybe she will be encouraged to divorce and find someone who can meet her needs. The modern woman is the epitome of the weakness of gullible women. We see this kind of woman always learning, but never coming to a knowledge of the truth. This is the woman of the nineties.

Biblical Solutions

How can the Christian woman dedicated to serving God in her home resist this kind of propaganda? How can the woman who has compromised with the world get back on the right track? The answer is fairly simple. First we must repudiate the world's agenda for women and determine the Word's agenda for women. This is both a protection and a solution. We must determine to be obedient to the Word of God no matter what it says, with no compromises. This is what it means to be a woman of the Word. We must find out what the Bible teaches about marriage, about children, about men and women and their roles, and then we must be obedient with no apologies, no matter what the cost. Is this radical Christianity? No. This is basic Christianity.