The Sqeeze

(Proverbs 12:4 KJV)  A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

Alright, I admit it.  This verse is a “sexist” statement.  It clearly infers that there is a hierarchy in the family and by inference that hierarchy extends into society.  You got a problem with that?  Then talk to God, not me.  As a Christian I am to develop my weighing of society and its standards from the Word, not judge the Word on what my coffee shop crowd says.  There are times when this reality rears its head, stares us in the eye and demands a decision. 

We have let the Biblical standards be overwhelmed by the pragmatism of the age.  Think of the areas that the church has given up the standards God has established.  I can name a few but an exhaustive list is beyond me.  Think about the following that seem to be as rampant in the church as in society:  Divorce, adultery, teenage pregnancy, abortion, lies, cheating on taxes, lawsuits, and those are just the ones that occur to me at the spur of the moment.

Remember what Paul said:

(Romans 12:2 KJV)  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

I have always loved the paraphrase that J.B. Phillips gives in this verse.  I quote from memory:

    “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.”

We are being squeezed and every time we look at a verse like Proverbs 12:4 and on some level reject what it is saying, we give in to the squeezing a little more.  I remember going into my son’s room when he was young and seeing the dog between him and the wall, stretched out in all her glory and he was clinging to the outer edge of the bed.  You know what eventually happened.  He ended up on the floor.  Heresy and apostasy work this way.  It pushes.  We adjust.  It pushes some more.  We adjust some more.  The dance goes on.

So?  Where are you dancing with the world?  Look at your life and compare it to what you have read in the Bible.  What verses have made you uncomfortable in the past?  Do they still make you uncomfortable or have you adjusted?  I don’t write as the Perfect One.  I write as one who is trying to stop my dance and continue the walk.  Examine your life and let’s get on down the Highway of Holiness.