The Other Woman
This week I want to take a break from discussing the characteristics of the women found throughout the Bible who have put their faith in God, these women are admirable and are something for the Christian woman to aspire too. However, there is another type of woman described in the Bible that needs to be addressed, for she is a dangerous woman. With this post let us discuss the woman who is not a follower of Jesus Christ. This woman is described as making herself wholly like this world and serving the master of this world. What makes this woman dangerous, is her claim to follow Christ however, when her characteristics are compared to the previously discussed women, we can see she does not belong to God.
This type of woman is found throughout scripture but the main verses that I want to look at are in Proverbs. Proverbs describes this woman as a cancer to those around her (Proverbs 12:4), someone who tears down her home with her own hands (Proverbs 14:1), someone who is like a leaking roof (Proverbs 27:15), where it is better to live on the corner of a roof or in a desert land than with a quarrelsome woman (Proverbs 21:9, 21:19). The type of woman that I am talking about is someone who is prideful, arrogant, does not show kindness, is deceitful, and seeks to bring down those around her. She does not know the redeeming power of Christ, because she is so wrapped up in the master of this world.
A woman of this character will have the traits found in Proverbs 6:16-19 “16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.” And it is here that I want to begin our discussion, looking at these verses we can see that those who have these traits cannot belong to Christ, and yet I have meet many so called Christian women who amplify these traits. Perhaps you know them too, the women who are arrogant and disdainful to those around them, who believe that they are superior. These women often lie to get what they want and act affronted when called out. They devises schemes to make themselves look better, often times they will manipulate a situation to separate friends or family and cause conflict. They are the women who claim to hate drama but drama seems to follow them everywhere.
The truth about these women is that even if they claim to be followers of Christ, they belong to the master of this world. They soak their lives into this world instead of standing above it. 1 John 2:15-16 “15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father[a] is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”
But what is it about these women that makes them dangerous? For that answer we need to look to Proverbs 9:13-18 “13 Folly is an unruly woman; she is simple and knows nothing. 14 She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, 15 calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, 16 “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says 17 “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!” 18 But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.” Here we can see that just like Folly, a woman who claims to be godly and have the right answer is dangerous. She urges, calls, and guides others only to have them fall into calamity as well. Her words are persuasive and her actions enticing, yet in the end her path, her characteristics only lead to death. Her continuation in behavior that opposes God gives others the misinterpretation that it is acceptable behavior. And while God does love everyone, it is clear from Proverbs that there are things that He hates. And if a woman knowingly and continually is behaving in ways that oppose God, she cannot be one of His.
Another aspect that makes these women dangerous is found in James 1:26, “26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.” And in Titus 1:16 “16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.” These women are dangerous because they are walking around with the idea that they are saved, they believe that they have “fire insurance”. They have deceived their own hearts into believing that they belong to Christ. If they did an inspection on their lives, there would be no change in their behavior from when they weren’t “saved” to the present. They have not known the redeeming power of Christ.
Now I want to be clear about something, I am not saying that a women who is a true follower of Christ is perfect, or even sinless for everyone has sinned, and it is possible that at times a Christian woman will behave in a way that goes against what God teaches. However, the difference between a women who belongs to God and one who does not is that they will not continue in their sin. They will “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.” 2 Peter 1:5-9. God transforms the lives of those who belong to Him. It is something that I have seen in friends who have become believers, it is something I have seen in myself since I became a believer. When you belong to Him, you develop a hunger for His word and as that hunger grows, traits like goodness, self-control, and perseverance grows in the life of the believer. Yes we still fail but we get back up, knowing the Lord has forgiven us and we lean on Him, as seen in Proverbs 24:16, “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.”
These women recognized that they have sinned but instead of continuing in it like the women mentioned above, they behave like those found in 1 John 3:6 “6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” Instead of continuing in behavior that separates mankind from God, these believers have turned from it and continue in it no more. Again this does not mean that they never sin, however for the true child of God it means that we do not find joy in it. It is through this that we can separate ourselves from the world and its desires.
These women are like wisdom as described in Proverbs 9:1-6 “Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out her seven pillars; 2 She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table; 3 She has sent out her maidens, she calls From the tops of the heights of the city: 4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks understanding she says, 5 “Come, eat of my food And drink of the wine I have mixed. 6 “Forsake your folly and live, And proceed in the way of understanding.” This woman has recognized her folly, turned from it and found the knowledge and understanding that comes from knowing God. She then takes this knowledge and shares it, much like the foundational verse of this ministry. Titus 2:3-5 “3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, 4 so that they may [a]encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”
If at this moment you are not sure if you belong to God or not, I encourage you to look at your life. Do you have traits as warned of above? If so, from what we can see in Scripture it would appear that you hold the traits that God detests, and as shown above, anyone like this has deceived their own heart and are not following Christ but instead the ruler of this world. If this is you or someone that you know, it is possible to be like the other woman mentioned. When you accept that you are a sinner, acknowledge that God is Lord and that He died to save you, you become a new creation. “17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!”2 Corinthians 5:17.
Seek the Truth and encourage one another,
Alex