Opposing Quotes

I've been giving the topic below some serious thought in recent weeks, and I came upon 2 different perspectives, which I thought I'd put out there for anyone who cares to read them. The first is our natural, human reaction - I must confess, I've felt this way before; the second I found to be quite insightful and thought-provoking.


Quote #1

Think about some of the women you meet at church. They're trying to live up to some model of fimininity. What do they "teach" you about being a woman? What are they saying to us through their lives? Like we said, you'd have to conclude that a godly woman is . . . tired. And guilty. We're all living in the shadow of that infamous icon, the "Proverbs 31 Woman", whose life is so busy I wonder, when does she have time for friendships, for taking walks, or reading good books? Her light never goes out at night? When does she have sex? Somehow she has sanctified the shame most women live under, biblical proof that yet again we don't measure up. Is that supposed to be godly - that sense that you're a failure as a woman?

- from Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge (p. 6)



Quote #2

The word “tired” comes to mind as I read this chapter. You’re familiar with the passage—on and on and on about all the things this woman does. She gets up early in the morning; she stays up late at night; she just burns the candle at both ends, and she is so busy. You can read this passage and just feel tired. If you weren’t before you read it, you are after you read it!

Another word that comes to mind is the word “overwhelmed.” How does she do it all—and with no technology in her day and age such as we have today? It’s easy to feel defeated or to feel like a failure. It’s easy to look at this standard—this picture of a woman of virtue—and feel, “This is impossible!” Then the next thought is, “I guess I’d just better give up. I can never be this kind of woman” . . . So we have feelings of comparison, feelings of guilt. . .

Now, I want to make two statements that I’m going to repeat probably many times throughout this series because I want this to get into the fiber of your thinking. Here are the two statements. First of all, no woman can be like the woman that we read about in Proverbs 31. . . Anything we do try to do on our own in our striving and efforts is not pleasing or acceptable to God. The only way we can ever please God is through the righteousness of Christ, through His excellence. He’s the only One who has ever measured up to God’s standard of holiness.

But here’s another statement that sounds like the opposite, and it’s just as true. Any woman who is a child of God can be like this woman. . . because Jesus lives in us, and He’s the One who fulfills the righteousness of God. So as we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, you and I can be a virtuous and excellent woman.

You see, the most outstanding thing about this woman as I read this passage . . . is not all the things she can do . . . it’s her heart. It’s her priorities. It’s her values.

- from the radio series The Counter-Cultural Woman by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (2.14.07)