The group of godly women who shepherded me and many others through our early motherhood were a group of older ladies scattered across the world who got together to fulfill the call in Titus 2:3-5 to teach the younger women. The younger women couldn't find anyone around them to teach them, and the older women couldn't find any younger women who wanted their godly wisdom.
Finding each other online was a blessing to both sides. I was so richly blessed by that group until I left it due to time constraints. Now, I work with younger women to pass on what I learned and to encourage them in their calling as wives and mothers.
Finding each other online was a blessing to both sides. I was so richly blessed by that group until I left it due to time constraints. Now, I work with younger women to pass on what I learned and to encourage them in their calling as wives and mothers.
MANY of us younger women did not have support locally even within our own churches. Many of us who felt the Lord's leading to be a stay at home mother also felt the call to homeschool. The homeschooling community was still small and not very organized. Many had experienced the same outspoken and harsh judgements from family and friends as I had. If you mentioned you homeschooled online, it often triggered someone else into saying something negative. God very often leads His people to go against the flow.
We were ravenous for help, support, encouragement, and fellowship with kindred sisters! The godly wisdom and support we found online was critical nourishment for our battered souls.
LIFE TIP: Wouldn't it be troubling to get before the Lord to hear you negatively influenced someone who was correctly hearing from the Lord? They were obeying where God led them, but you, also a child of God, came along, looked at the situation with wordly eyes, criticized them, and made their journey harsher, and impeded them in growing in Christ. Wouldn't that be awful? and shameful? That should trouble our hearts so much!
If someone is doing something you still feel it is wrong for them, humble yourself first. Pray for yourself before you pray for that person. You may be seeing the situation through your own prejudices. Search Scripture. You could be the one in error.
If, you have sought the Lord and still feel you should speak, stop, and pray again. Ask God to give you the right words, prepare their heart, and prepare a time where they can hear your concern without distractions. Then, if you still feel led and see the time opened to you, go forward and discuss it with an open mind. Many women applied this in their marriages when they felt the Lord calling them to homeschool, but their husbands did not. The results of these heartfelt prayers in the marriages and other areas were astounding!
Real life illustration:
In my community, there is a Christian man who is heavily tattooed with full sleeves on both arms. Many Christians feel this is a sin and are openly judgemental regarding his inked limbs. He has had the same mean spiritedness towards him as I did regarding staying at home. Different topic; same harsh criticism. People didn't want to hear me about why I made the decision I did. People didn't want to hear him either. Without true dialogue, they just made up their minds.
I'm going to tell you something radical. Objects do not have a soul and therefore can not be properly assigned a spiritual designation. If you are hung up on objects being good or bad, you are focusing on the wrong things! Where does sin originate? What is sinful? Mark 7:18-23 You do not have to fear objects, but you should be concerned with the condition of your soul! Tattoos, themselves, are not sinful. It is the heart condition of the person who wears them that matters to God.
As a young man, the aforementioned guy was heavily into sin. Vile things. He had tattoos that reflected that lifestyle. Once he was redeemed, those sin promoting tattoos caused him anguish. He decided to change the story his arms told to tell another story. A better story. He had the plan of salvation in pictures tattooed over the old, worldly tattoos. It cost him a lot of money and was a very painful process.
It was one of the most beautiful sets of tattoos I've ever seen. Not for the artistic value but for the eternal. He wears cut off sleeves most of the time, even when it is cold, because he does not want to miss one opportunity to share Jesus.
God's love and redemption are written all over his arms!
And he readily tells others!
If that isn't beautiful, I do not know what is!
Dear Reader, Jesus did not come to save us from objects like tattoos. He came to save us from the sin (rebellion) in our own hearts. Instead of reacting with emotion to how you feel about someone's choice, think. Is it really sin? Are you really truly concerned for their well being or are you offended/challenged/convicted in some manner? Be honest with yourself. Be considerate, gentle, and graceful with others. Please pray for yourself first before you try changing someone else's course. You just might be the one who needs to make a change.
