Lesson 10/09/05

TIMOTHY’S RULE OF CONDUCT FOR WOMEN!

In the good old days of Ozzie & Harriet, life was simpler for the American male. More often than not, he was the family patriarch and sole breadwinner. His wife catered to his needs and raised his children. His word around the home was law, accepted without argument and enforced by the woman during the work week.
Then on Sundays the man of the house led his family to church and through his leading they worshiped God and attended Sunday School. It was understood “that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man.”
One of the women in the class, remembering the good old days, sent me an e-mail that reflected this living arrangement. It reads as follows:
Gary – This (I was told) appeared in Housekeeping monthly in the 1950s.
I am only giving you three of the nine paragraphs listed. I mean, how much ammunition should I pass on to the guy that will be firing at me next week?
The Good Wife's Guide
Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home, and the prospect of a good meal (especially his favorite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.
Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper, etc., and then run a dust cloth over the tables. Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.
Don’t ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him. A good wife always knows her place.
Amen! But by the late eighties, after spending the past thirty years demanding equality, Harriet of Ozzie & Harriet was replaced by Murphy Brown. In March of 1989 Newsweek suggested that Murphy Brown communicated four unmistakable messages about women. They were:
First, Murphy Brown tells us that it is okay for a women to work outside of the home. While this is a needed message, the shift actually goes beyond mere working. The message is that “work” is everything.
Second, Murphy Brown tells us that it is okay to be alone. In fact, Ms. Brown enjoys her independence and takes pride in being self-sufficient.
Third, Murphy Brown tells us that it is okay to mess up. With self-forgiving charity she excuses herself for moral lapses and her insensitivity toward others.
Fourth, Murphy Brown tells us that it’s okay to mouth off. Using her tongue like an Uzi, she blasts her colleagues on a regular basis.
So toward the end of the twentieth century women had reached parity with depraved men. They could now lay claim to being workaholics, take pride in being self-sufficient, muddle their lives without an ounce of regret, and wage verbal warfare on anyone who questioned their understanding of the world.
Today, with the likes of Madonna, we have the blurring of all distinctions between the genders. Her “Blonde Ambition” tour featured male mermaids in make-up with false breast while she was the sexual aggressor.
This blurring of gender is seen in little things, like men who are hesitate to open the door for a woman lest they get kicked in the shins for their effort. But it is also seen in bizarre ways with Gay men who adopt babies and then buy a surrogate nursing bra so they can experience the bonding of breast feeding.
Well, the good old days of Ozzie & Harriet were probably not as good as we imagine. Nor is every woman who works outside the home as obnoxious as Murphy Brown. As for Madonna, her “Blonde Ambition” tour was probably seen by most kids for what it was - a marketing ploy designed to empty their pockets.
All of this is to say that there are plenty of false teachers in our culture. To the degree that we allow culture to make up our minds for us, to squeeze us into the world’s mold, whether it is from the culture of 1955 or the culture of today, we infect the church.
It would be nice to say, of course, that our culture has not had a toxic effect on us or the church. But all the gender blending of the last forty-plus years has weakened our individual and corporate grip on what it means to be male and female. So it is wise to remind ourselves of what Scripture has to say about our roles within the church.
Last week we looked at what ought to be man’s highest priority – praying for everyone, especially “for kings and all those in authority.” This week we turn our focus on the role of women within the family of God. In I Timothy 2:9 - 15 we read:
I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. 10 For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.
Women should listen and learn quietly and submissively. 12 I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly. 13 For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. 14 And it was the woman, not Adam, who was deceived by Satan, and sin was the result. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing and by continuing to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.
First, within the church, the local church, a woman is to be attractive. When we gather to worship women are not to adorn themselves with gold, pearls, or expensive clothes so as to draw attention to themselves. For in doing so they are either behaving as prostitutes behave or are wrapped up in themselves, literally and figuratively. Rather, they are to use good judgment, they to dress with reserve. That is, they are to dress in all modesty so that the attention is not on them but on God and prayer.
If a women want to express her beauty, and there is no problem in wishing to express it, they should express it through their good deeds. This, and this alone, is the appropriate adornment for women who profess to know Christ. For when women perform good deeds for no other reason than to please God the world sits up and takes a good hard look at the church. For example, in the past half-century the best advertisement for the universal church has been Mother Teresa.
The second thing Paul says about women is that women should learn in a quiet submissive fashion. In the church they are not to dominate and have authority over men. It’s tempting to dismiss these words as being woefully out-of-date. But Paul supports his remarks by appealing to the creation account.
In taking us back to the beginning, he reminds us that man was formed first. The implication being that, like it or not, he was given the responsibility for everything under his umbrella. He then reminds us that it was Eve who first sinned and as a result came into a place of judicial restriction. It is for these reasons apart from anything within the current culture that prompted Paul to say “I do not let women teach men or have authority over them.”
Did he say that because he thought women were stupid? No! Did he say it because he thought women were inferior to men? No! He reached this conclusion based on the natural order of creation. An order that ought to be reflected within the local church. So if that is the case, what are the implications for the local church today?
Well, it’s easier for me to say what this passage is not saying as opposed to what it is saying about women. It is not saying that a woman could never be the CEO of a major corporation. For example, I would have no trouble with a woman being the CEO of Intel. I wouldn’t even have trouble with a woman being president of the United States. I wouldn’t vote for Hillary Clinton, but I would be inclined to vote for someone like Elizabeth Dole. Nor do I have trouble working for a woman. In fact, the head of the Math Department at Chandler High School is a woman and she and I have a good working relationship. I have no trouble with women having authority over men in the work place because I believe Paul is talking about the local church.
Nor do I have trouble with being taught something by a woman. In fact, two of my favorite authors are women. One of them is Rebecca Manley Pippert who wrote Out of the Salt Shaker & into the World which I suspect is still read today by anyone interested in evangelism. More recently she’s written A Heart Like His which draws wisdom from the life of David in the Old Testament. The other author I really like is Liz Curtis Higgs who has written a number of books on various characters in the Bible. One of her most recent character studies resulted in a book called Mad Mary which tells the story of Mary Magdalene.
I don’t have any trouble learning from books written by Christian women for two reasons. First, Timothy himself had received well-grounded instruction in the Old Testament through his mother and grandmother. Also, Priscilla and Aquila pulled Apollos aside and explained to him the way of God more adequately. To his credit, he listened and was better able to refute the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Second, reading a book written by Liz Curtis Higgs or any other woman author is a private activity. While it is done for the benefit of the local church it is not a corporate activity of the church.
So what are the implications for us at Bethany? First, to reflect the order of creation the local church ought to be governed by men. Second, at Bethany where the Adult Communities and Small Groups best display the church to the watching world they ought to reflect the order of creation with men having authority over them.

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