Older Women....

I need your help.

One of my biggest struggles is self-control.

God has been dealing with my heart on areas that are out of control. So I decided to reread the chapter "The safety of self-control", from "Feminine Appeal", by Carolyn Mahaney. This chapter has to be one of the best readings I have done on self-control.

On pages 64-65, she says; "Self-control is so important that the apostle Paul required it, directly or by inference, of every group of Christians he addressed in the Titus 2 chapter. The emphasis placed on this virtue reveals how essential self-control is if we are to effectively commend the gospel. We cannot afford to ignore it. Therefore, if Scripture requires self-control from every Christian, it is obviously attainable by every Christian. This truth should revolutionize our understanding of self-control. For whenever God gives a command, He also provides the grace to obey it."

This comment is very important;
"For whenever God gives a command, He also provides the grace to obey it."
A few months ago, someone made a comment that has given me a better meaning of the word "grace". I always thought of grace as being free from the condemnations of my sins, that grace covered me. But this person was sharing the idea of "means of grace", like having a bible, my vision, my ears, people around me, bible studies, ect, to be able to learn more about God, and grow in my faith. And I believe that one of my means of grace is the "older women" talked about in Titus.

And let me just say that even though I am getting older, I still consider myself a "younger woman". And that this post applies to me as much as it applies to any other woman, because I will always be older than some women, and someday I will be the older women that younger women are looking for guidance from.

Titus 2:3-5 says~
"Older women likewise are to be reverent in BEHAVIOR, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to TEACH what is good, and so TRAIN the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled."

God has placed some really great women in my life as role models of this text.
However, I have to share that there are others that leave me feeling defeated by complaining about something that I have done or said, by their words that condemn me, or behaviors that show signs of being displeased in me.

Complaining, or having an attitude towards other women of "I can't believe she did that, or said that", is NOT how Paul instructs the older women to handle the younger women.

I do desire to learn from you, but it is hard to do when I feel judged by you. I also want to be a good example of the generations to come. So please help me, by teaching me, training me, and setting a good example in behavior for me.

Behavior:
~ the manner of conducting oneself

Teach:
~to cause to know something, to cause to know how, to accustom to some action or attitude, to cause to know the disagreeable consequences of some action, to guide the studies of, to impart the knowledge of, to instruct by precept, example, or experience, to make known and accepted,
to conduct instruction regularly in.

Train:
~ to form by instruction, discipline, or drill, to teach so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient, to make prepared (as by exercise) for a test of skill, to aim at an object or objective, to undergo instruction, discipline.