I have two quick thoughts I need to share before I forget what they are. I can expound upon them later.
1. I believe the reason women think that staying at home with children or just managing a home and serving her husband is so meaningless, is simply because we do not value relationships. We do not see the importance of building relationships with our husbands or children and therefore staying at home with them seems to be a waste. Most people do not have an eternal perspective and cannot look for what the projected results will be if relationships are valued. Women at home do not receive a paycheck for taking care of their children or serving their husbands. The results of that kind of work are intangible.
"The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world". If we could grasp this and realize what an impact we could make in society and ultimately in the kingdom of God, we would gladly develop relationships with out children and husbands. Our nurturing of children and support of husband does have an impact whether we see it or not. If that is missing, husbands and children will be missing a serious component in their lives.
2. When we look at others and see their faults or their temptations to sin, and we don't see those in our own lives because we have already overcome them, or we don't face the kinds of temptations that others face, we need to be careful not to judge. I have been guilty of doing this, so I will watch my heart as well. Perhaps the person has received God's grace in an abundant way in a particular area of his or her life, but in another area, the grace just doesn't seem to be there. We could be like Job's friends and conclude that there must be some kind of sin that they committed that they aren't willing to part with, or that God is punishing them. I am not talking here about people who are unrepentant and want to stay in their sins. I know sometimes both types of situations can look very much alike, and that even makes it more confusing.
Human beings are very complex. It is not black and white like we think it is. Take for example, a well known comedian who has a wonderful reputation for being a family guy. He promotes family values wherever he goes. He probably really does believe in family values, yet, in a recent news report, this same man has been accused by two different women who say they were raped by him. What gives? I don't know that this man is a Christian or not, but we have to wonder how someone can be so family minded, yet be accused of raping women. Another story that I found interesting was one of a group of men who were prisoners guilty of rape. They were on a television show answering questions from a television host. These prisoners were actually telling women how to defend themselves against potential rapists. They honestly do not want women to be raped, yet, the temptation for them to rape another woman, should they get out of prison, is going to be very strong for them.
We need to be grateful for the areas in our lives where God has given us grace to work through or overcome areas of sin, but we need to remember that the devil is not going to tempt us with something that is obviously wrong in our eyes. He leads us little by little, with a lot of reasoning as to why we should have an affair, or rape someone, or whatever the sin is. We need to be checking our own hearts and keeping our guard up so when temptations come our way, we will be ready for them. And let's be careful in dealing with others who are struggling. Draw them out. Find out what they are really struggling with. Pray for them and teach them the word of God so they can become strong too. God will work in their hearts on His timetable with them, not our timetables. We need to be patient and minister to them in the areas where God is leading. We need to make them ready to let go of their sin, and receive God's grace. We do not want to get into the way of anything God will do.
