Posted in This week in the Silver lining

(Thank you for visiting my blog.  This one ended up being a little long!   Feel free to re-read later when you have time if you can’t finish it).

 

Hello all.... 

 

I am by way of this blog officially denying myself of ear holes…for now!  (until my ears totally heal and maybe I'll try again in a year or two).  I had gotten my ears pierced in November of last year when I went to Washington State with my sister.

 

However, after all this time my ears where too high maintenance for me.  Don't get me wrong...I do clean my ears after every shower and I'm very particular about them.  But the added inconvenience of having to use Hydrogen Peroxide every night past the usual "6-8 week healing period". 

 

You may ask me:  "What would happen if you didn't keep babying them"?  To which I answer:  "one of two things would happen if I neglected my ears; one you don't REALLY want me to share, the other is that the earring hole would bleed".  : D  It's almost like my ears have refused to heal on the inside!  The strange thing is that on the outside it seemed to be quick to heal; when I left out my earrings for only 1 night (to let them rest), the back of the earring hole would close up and I couldn't find where to close the earring. 

Ok-So now you are probably scratching your head wondering why on earth I chose to tell you all this.  In fact this is probably the thought that crossed your minds:  "Why are you writing this on your blog?  Big deal!  So, you had a problem adjusting to earrings?"

 

Part of this blog is expressing my mind about life events, and how they teach me lessons about God's word.  Well…

 

Even though most women have their ears pierced at infancy; I didn't.  My mother believed that it was against God's laws to wear earrings/ or any jewelry -for that matter.  To an extent; I also had a conviction about it that may have stemmed from my up-bringing.  However, I decided as an adult (last year) that I would do an inward examination of my reasons for wanting ear rings. 

 

So after coming out of a strong Fundamentalist Pentecostal church; I decided to really do a Bible study and experience for myself this "dogma" to see what God really wanted me to know about this.  It wasn’t until now that I understood.

 

Was I not getting earrings because of my own conviction?  Was I wanting to get earrings because I wanted to be “normal for once” or to “keep up with the Joan’ses”?   Was I wanting earrings to help me “feel better” about myself, or to look pretty?  Was it an excuse to lift up my self esteem?  Should I worry about other’s opinions of me, or what God thinks of me?  I learned a lot from a familiar verse that I didn’t realize before applied to so much in my life.

 

Many times in my life I had read over the (often mis-quoted) verse from 1 Timothy 2:9 that says:   

            9"In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

I looked up some commentary on this verse in biblegateway.com and found out what some theologians think about it.  (These people have done longer studies and read other parts of the Bible that support their understanding, better than mine).  Here is part of what they had to say about it: 

 

 ..."Women who profess the Christian religion, must be modest in apparel, not affecting gaudiness, gaiety, or costliness. Good works are the best ornament; these are, in the sight of God, of great price. Modesty and neatness are more to be consulted in garments than elegance and fashion. And it would be well if the professors of serious godliness were wholly free from vanity in dress. They should spend more time and money in relieving the sick and distressed, than in decorating themselves and their children. To do this in a manner unsuitable to their rank in life, and their profession of godliness, is sinful"...

 

Here is what God spoke to me through this short study:  God wants me to be modest and a good steward of His time and His money, and if I have dedicated my life to serving him then my life is a reflection of Him and I should represent Him well.  (I say "His" because I don't control how much time I have on this earth -though I am a steward over time, and it is always God's provision for me to have the ability to hold a job or have an income).

 

So, God is not really telling me:  "Told you!  No earrings for you!  That's for disobeying me!" ; ) LOL-I crack myself up sometimes.  He is allowing this teaching in His Word to let me know to be careful of my intentions; to have the right mindset, and to know what is important in life, to not get caught up in the meaningless things, to be careful what things I do with my money and my time and the impression I give in this world to others. 

 

This also brought other questions to my mind:  Does this mean that if someone that is rich/or well-to-do gets an expensive car or something:  Is that a bad thing?  Not necessarily.  What was their heart behind getting it?  Could they afford it?  Did they think of what matters first?

 

If someone who is poor/or has a tight budget buys an expensive car that they want in place of a sufficiently efficient car that they need; is this a bad thing?  According to God's word it would be; (because I am not the judge...and God's word is:  it doesn't matter what I believe).    But God would want them to think of what matters first!  They would want to be good stewards of the money they are provided.

 

I'm happy for people that get new cars/or anything that is better/bigger for their family and that are efficient for them.  In fact, my sister and her husband just bought an SUV/minivan type car.  But when I asked them about it, they assured me that they could comfortably make those payments.  So, then my concern for my sister's well-being was appeased! 

God's laws and "suggestions" aren't to keep us from doing things.  We should NEVER feel imprisoned by the things that God would have us do...but rather do things FOR God; TO HONOR HIM, TO REPRESENT HIS NAME WELL (AS CHRISTIANS) BECAUSE we are thankful to Him FOR HIS TRUTHS.  What truths are these?  The Bible, His Word is truth. 

 

B.I.B.L.E. --"Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth"! **

 

**Benefits of these suggestions of God's word: 

 

-How much better will we live in this world with others if we care enough about our neighbors to be good examples? 

 

-How much easier would life be if we let the creator give us True wisdom on what is good for us in the end?  In everything:  big decisions, spending money, small decisions, etc. etc.  (After all He knows the future)!

 

-How much better would this world be if All Christians really represented Christ for all that The Bible says about Him?  (Instead of "Christians" who constantly don't care/realize that they cut off people on the road, or use swear words that offend, etc. etc.  Also, how would Jesus feel about that if He heard them saying it?  Do they not know that This God is everywhere?  The forces of this world want us to slander, and fall all the time, because he wants to bring down the Good Name of Jesus.  He wants us to mess up God's name so that people will point their fingers at us saying:  "If that's a Christian..I don't want anything to do with that?". 

 

-GOD has our best interest at heart! - The Bible says in Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".

 

So you see, God does not want to keep me from wearing earrings.  Perhaps, though he wants to teach me through this experience.  I believe that He has.  I believe that he has allowed me to see the “big picture” put all the puzzle pieces together for me in my life through this “little” situation.  He has “filled the hole”-LOL- for me with regard to my conscience. 

 

Will I ever get my ears pierced again?  Maybe I will.  But at least this time I will do examine my heart for the right reasons.  I will stick to any convictions that I may have based on how God is dealing with me in my life.  This next time, I would be doing it consciously knowing that “looking great” is not the only or most important thing in life. 

 

This speaks to me in a variety of different areas of my life.  Not just about the earrings...  But one thing it helps about is my true battle with loosing weight.  I will now examine my heart for why I do things.  God looks at the heart, right?  Not at the outside! 

 

Therefore; Is my heart right with God?   Everything that goes to the heart comes in through our minds so:  Am I putting into my heart the right things?  What things do I think on?  Do I get down about being over-weight?  Do I continually feel bad about my state?  Does it over-whelm me to the point where I feel bad and discouraged?  Can I help others around me if I’m walking around discouraged and down on myself?  How can I help other if I can’t help myself? How can I help myself loose weight, if I am down?

 

Why is it that I haven’t lost weight?  Perhaps it is due to not having the right reasons or because I haven’t focused my energy on what really matters.  I should loose weight naturally by just being conscious of what I put into my body.  By wanting to eat healthy!  It should be a by-product; not the driving force of “wanting to look good”.

 

God’s opinion of me is the first thing I want to care about!  That’s who I want to like me most.  He wants me to be healthy and to have good thoughts in this life.  He wants me to appreciate His Word.  He wants me to be thankful and think on the eternal things.  He wants me to have a good outlook and a healthy esteem.  He wants me to help others also. 

 

His Word says in:  Philippians 4:8 

8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

He also says in His word in Matthew 6:25:

 

25 “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”

 

So if this helps you to examine yourself for things that might help you; then I pray God will give you wisdom to know what “little” things in your life reflect a lesson from Him for you.

 

God Bless,