One of the most ludicrous charges against the Bible and Christianity that I have heard is the charge that God and the Bible are somehow misogynistic and anti-woman. Let me tell you, I don’t know how people come to that conclusion. They must not be reading the same Bible that I am reading. More likely, the filters over their eyes are so thick that they’ve bought into Satan’s lies about who God is and how He sees us as women. God has a special place in His heart for women. We are a special part of His creation. We have a role to play that no one else can play.
You’ve probably had people point to the passages on submission to our husbands as evidence that the Bible views women as second-rate citizens. This is a complete misunderstanding of what God means by submission. My husband loves the quote from My Big Fat Greek Wedding: “Let me tell you something Toula; the man is the head, but the woman is the neck and she can turn the head any way she wants.” My husband loves to point out to other women the power that they have to influence their husbands. That’s because God created us to be influencers.
When God created man in Genesis, He calls His creation good, but He acknowledges that it is not good that man is alone. He makes woman to be a companion to man, and then He calls His creation “very good.” Women are a special creation of God. As such, He values women just as much as He values men, but women and men were not created to be the same. We don’t have the same purpose. Women were created to be influencers. There are plenty of examples all throughout Scripture of women influencing the situation both for good and for bad.
Consider this: why did Satan go to Eve with his temptation to eat the fruit? Why didn’t he go to Adam? After all, Adam was the representative head of the human race. It wasn’t Eve’s sin that resulted in their eyes being open, it was Adam’s sin. Satan went to Eve because he recognized her created purpose. As a relational being meant to respond to Adam, Eve was designed to hold influence. Satan knew that if he could get Eve to eat, she would go to Adam and convince him to do the same. That’s exactly what we see happen. Eve falls to the temptation. She eats the fruit, and then she offers the fruit to Adam. He is influenced by Eve to eat the fruit. He takes a bite, and then their eyes are open and they see their nakedness.
Look at the story of Abraham. God has promised Abraham that he will be the Father of Nations. He has promised a son, but that promise doesn’t come to fruition immediately. Sarah gets tired of waiting for God to fulfill His promise. She decides to help God out and convinces Abraham to take her servant Hagar as a wife and have a son through her. Rebecca convinces Jacob to deceive his father and take the blessing from Esau. Delilah convinces Samson to reveal the secret to his strength and then uses it to capture him. Herodias’s daughter uses her influence over King Herod to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter! Women have incredible power to influence.
And it’s not all for bad things. Abigail uses her influence on David. Abigail is married to Nabal. He’s an arrogant, uncaring man. As David is hiding from Saul, Nabal treats his men badly. As a result, David is ready to kill everyone in Nabal’s family. Until Abigail finds out, that is. Abigail is told by one of the servants that David is coming and about the insult Nabal has given. So Abigail comes up with a plan to divert David from his plan of retribution. She packs food as a gift for David and his men, and she goes to David to beg forgiveness and mercy. She assumes responsibility for her husband’s error, and she reminds David that when he is king he doesn’t want to be guilty of bloodshed. David relents. He changes his mind about avenging himself on Nabal. He acknowledges Abigails wisdom for keeping him from sinning by avenging himself, and he goes on his way. Later, when the Lord strikes Nabal dead, David even marries Abigail.
And finally, Mary uses her influence on Jesus. Of course, as his mother, Mary influenced all of Jesus’ upbringing, but the story I’m thinking of is the wedding at Cana. Jesus hasn’t yet begun his public ministry. He attends a wedding, and the hosts run out of wine. Mary goes to Jesus and lets him know that they have run out of wine. He says that his time hasn’t come and basically asks her what she expects him to do. Mary doesn’t answer him. Instead, she goes to the servants and directs them to do whatever Jesus says. Mary’s influence is at work. Her faith that Jesus can and will handle this problem releases the Father to authorize Jesus to perform a miracle, and He does. He turns water into wine. His first officially recorded miracle, and it served no purpose other than to provide pleasure and to save some people from embarrassment. It’s all done at the request of His mother.
As women, we are powerful influencers. We can use this God-given ability for good or for evil. The choice is ours. We can change the atmosphere of a room to evil with gossiping and complaining, or we can change it to good with a peaceful, faith-filled attitude. We affect the atmosphere in our homes and in our families. Who are the prayer warriors at your church? I guarantee the list of names is mostly grandmotherly figures with a rock-solid faith known for their intercessory abilities! God made us to be influencers. It’s part of our design. We need to do it God’s way!
Seven Ways To Influence Things for Good:
- Know the Word of God. By knowing the Word, we not only know the will of God, but we have the truth that brings freedom to us. The world needs us to be free and to exercise our ability to influence the world on behalf of God’s freedom (John 8:31-32).
- Know the Holy Spirit. We need to be led by the Spirit. It’s His divine appointments that maximize our ability to influence the world around us. He wants to pour out His love and concern and kindness on all people and draw those who are unrepentant to repentance. The Bible says it is the kindness of God that draws men to repentance (Romans 2:4), and that kindness can be displayed in us as we walk by the direction of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:14 says that those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God.
- Walk in love. John 13:34-35 says that those around us will know we are the disciples of Jesus by our love for one another. When we walk in love, we put God on display to the world around us because God is love.
- Set your hearts on purity. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus told his followers that the pure in heart were blessed because they would see God. Don’t you want to be known as a woman who sees God? What kind of influence could you have on the world around you if you were known as a person who sees God?
- Be self-controlled. 2 Peter 1: 5-8 says: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 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.” Self control is part of the process of knowing God. It will keep us from being ineffective. Self control brings us to maturity in Christ.
- Do not faint in the day of adversity. Proverbs 24:10 says that if we faint in the day of adversity, our strength is small. But we are not women of small strength. We serve a big God! The joy of the Lord is our strength. We have great faith and great tenacity. It’s up to us to hang on by faith and persevere through the tough times until we see the miracle God has waiting for us!
- Be steadfast. 1 Corinthians 15:58 says: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Working in ministry and laboring for the Lord positions us to hear from Him. When we put our roots down deep into the word of God, when we build our life upon the rock of Jesus Christ, we are steadfast. We are a shelter in the storms of the world. We are not ruled by our emotions. We are ruled by faith!
God made us to be an influence on the world around us! He values us as His daughters. We are his beloved bride. We are beautiful to Him. It doesn’t matter what the world says to us or what our thoughts say to us or what our feelings say to us. Our life should be grounded in His Word. It’s up to us to hold every thought captive unto Christ. Our identity in Christ is important. Our freedom in Christ is important. We can influence the world for Christ or for our own selfish gain. We mold the future through our children. It’s time we recognize our importance to the Kingdom of God, embrace the truth of who God says we are, and begin influencing the world for good!
A Beautiful Mess 