SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO GO THERE

I believe in Biblical morality.  I believe in Biblical values. 

Defining Biblcal values and morality though requires reading the Bible as a unit and comparing scriptures within and across Old & New Testaments.

And when I go back and forth and really hear the whole counsel of God, then whatever God tells me I have to do--- that's what I'm supposed to do, whether I like it or not.

Which is why I believe in Biblical values, but not necessarily in "traditional" values.

In the days of Jesus' earthly ministry, the good, right-worshipping, properly-pedigreed Jews in Judaea had a long-standing TRADITION of hating the Samaritans.   This was part of their Judeo-not-yet-Christian tradition.  The Jews perceived themselves as spiritually, politically, culturally, and in all other ways superior to the Samaritans across the border.

But the time Jesus walked the earth, hating Samaritans was an understood part of the Jews' traditional value system.    But it's not commanded in the Bible. 

The Bible talks about Samaria.  The Bible explains how Samaria got started and how the Samaritans got so far away from the culture of the other Jews.  But, the Bible never commanded the other Jews to hate, shun, or discriminate against the land that was once part of their land. 

The Bible doesn't sugar-coat the real sins committed by the Samaritans; but nowhere did God command the Jews to hate and oppose everything Samaritan.

That was part of the people's traditional values.

John 4: 1-4 says that Jesus was in the southern territory of Judaea getting ready to had back to Galilee which was on the other side of Samaria. 

“Good” Jews, true conservatives  walked around Samaria to get to Galilee lest their feet touch the hated soil.  John 4: 3, 4 says:

Jesus left Judea and departed again to Galilee. But He needed to go through Samaria.

NEEDED.

He must needs go throuh Samaria.

Jesus hadta go there.

Why? 

Just to meet one promiscuous lady at a well and tell her he was the Messiah?   Just to save one village of Samaritans who treated Him with more hospitality than the people of His own home town?  Just to have a back story for a parable explaining what it truly means to be someone’s neighbor?

All of the above. 

But also Jesus NEEDED to defy the traditional values of His people to fulfill all of the Biblical values of His Father.

Now as then, whenever Jesus’ people gauge what’s right and wrong by TRADITION rather than by the honest reading of the whole Bible, then disciples NEED to follow the Lord into areas where tradition won’t set foot.

Sometimes we havta go there. 

As I write this I realize that my more liberal readers will assume that my words are a strict endorsement of whatever contemporary social stance they hold.  

Slow your roll there.

Jesus didn’t endorsing the old Pharisaic tradition (of conservatism), but neither did He endorse the relatively new Samaritan traditions (of liberalism).   

Jesus told the Pharisees (conservatives),   “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. (Mark 7: 9)

Jesus told the Samaritans (liberals), You worship what you do not know. (John 4: 22)

The Bible does not support the conservative agenda.  The Bible does not endorse the liberal agenda. 

The Bible explains God’s agenda.  

God’s agenda will lead you off everybody else’s map.

But if we’re going to follow Jesus, we NEED to follow Him even into Samaria.

Sometimes, you just gotta go there.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

A WORD TO THE WISE. Proverbs 31: 13. "She's Got Work to Do"

Proverbs 31: 13     She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.

Proverbs 31:13.  The American concept of a “stay at home mom” is fascinatingly unbiblical.  The Bible does not teach this idea--- at least not the way we generally interpret it in America.

The Biblical ideal is a woman who brings value to the family.  Yes, she is a woman who brings good, godly VALUES to the home; but right now I’m talking about how she brings personal, spiritual, emotional, and financial VALUE.

What the Bible depicts would be more accurately expressed by the phrase “WORK from home mom.” 

The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 is an entrepreneur, a shrewd negotiator, a manger of resources.  She’s a BOSS.   And she loves the role.

She has domestic skills, but she is not a mindless domestic.  She is comfortable in the sewing room and in the boardroom.     (Which, if you think about it, is a pretty good complement to the ideal man who can afford a Mercedes but also mows the yard and changes the oil.)

The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 works with her mind and with her hands  just as the man was doing when God made woman, back in Genesis chapter 2.  
God’s design for husband and God’s design for wife are perfectly matched to bring value to their home.

The Bible does not exalt the image of a woman just “staying” at home  because she isn’t allowed to go do anything.   Go back and read again Titus 2: 4, 5.  Older women are commanded to mentor younger women and to

… teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. (King James Version)

A “keeper,” not a stayer.  A “keeper” was a guardian, a protector, the commander of the gate, the inspector of goods, the first line of defense until the army could get there.  A boss. 

A wife’s job is to help her husband bring value to the home.   
Much love to those women who can do that from the home address.   But the value has to come in, even if you can’t “stay” at the house and get it.

(And that is the difference between a Biblical housewife and a cultural trophy wife.)

Sometimes a woman has to go beyond the home to get that value and bring it back.   She has to go bring it from afar. (Proverbs 31: 4)
But home is still homebase, still headquarters, still the place where she comes back to stand with her husband, pool what they have, and build something greater.
At least, that’s how the Bible puts it.

I’ve kept you long enough, sister.  Go on, girl.  You’ve got work to do.

--Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and leadership development.   

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

Proverbs 31: 13. "She's Got Work to Do"

Proverbs 31: 13     She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.

Proverbs 31:13.  The American concept of a “stay at home mom” is fascinatingly unbiblical.  The Bible does not teach this idea--- at least not the way we generally interpret it in America.

The Biblical ideal is a woman who brings value to the family.  Yes, she is a woman who brings good, godly VALUES to the home; but right now I’m talking about how she brings personal, spiritual, emotional, and financial VALUE.
 

What the Bible depicts would be more accurately expressed by the phrase “WORK from home mom.” 

 

The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 is an entrepreneur, a shrewd negotiator, a manger of resources.  She’s a BOSS.   And she loves the role.

She has domestic skills, but she is not a mindless domestic.  She is comfortable in the sewing room and in the boardroom.     (Which, if you think about it, is a pretty good complement to the ideal man who can afford a Mercedes but also mows the yard and changes the oil.)

The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 works with her mind and with her hands  just as the man was doing when God made woman, back in Genesis chapter 2.    God’s design for husband and God’s design for wife are perfectly matched to bring value to their home.

The Bible does not exalt the image of a woman just “staying” at home  because she isn’t allowed to go anywhere or do anything.   Go back and read again Titus 2: 4, 5.  Older women are commanded to mentor younger women and to

… teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. (King James Version)

A “keeper,” not a stayer.  A “keeper” was a guardian, a protector, the commander of the gate, the inspector of goods, the first line of defense until the army could get there.  A boss. 

A wife’s job is to help her husband bring value to the home.   

Much love to those women who can do that from the home address.   But the value has to come in, even if you can’t “stay” at the house and get it.

(And that is the difference between a Biblical housewife and a cultural trophy wife.)

 

Sometimes a woman has to go beyond the home to get that value and bring it back.   She has to go bring it from afar. (Proverbs 31: 4)
But home is still homebase, still headquarters, still the place where she comes back to stand with her husband, pool what they have, and build something greater.

At least, that’s how the Bible puts it.

 

I’ve kept you long enough, sister.  Go on, girl.  You’ve got work to do.

--Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

Proverbs 31: 10. A WOMAN WORTH?

Proverbs 31: 10     Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. (NIV)

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. (NLV)

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. (ESV)

Proverbs 31: 10. On the one hand this verse is a Divine affirmation that there are good women out there.  On the other hand, it is a Divine warning that every woman out there isn’t a good one. 

Esau, son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, had no problem finding a wife/wives.  All around him, there were girls who made themselves “available.”  They were available, but they weren’t the kind of women that you could “bring home to mama.”  (Genesis 28: 8; 27: 46)   The family Esau’s built with those women became synonymous with idolatry and absolute destruction.  Edom, Esau’s line, was wiped out by God (Ezekiel 25: 13).

Jacob, Esau’s twin, made the right choice in a wife.  It took him 7, then 14 years of hard, hard work to win his wife/wives.  But through them God raised up a great nation.  (Genesis 29)  Jacob’s wives became the mothers of the nation of Israel, the biological line of Jesus (Genesis 49).

So, we have twin brothers raised in the same house by the same parents.  One of them picks the wrong women.  His legacy is destruction.  The other twin ends up with the right women.  His legacy is Jesus and the Jewish people.

What made the difference?

The difference was value and effort. 

Esau, according to Hebrews 12:16, had a messed up sense of value.  That’s value not values.

I’m not talking about moral values.  I’m talking about the internal calculator that tells a man which opportunity, activity, or woman to “spend” his time and energy pursuing.  I’m talking about the sense of what a good woman is “worth.”   (Cue Alicia Keys here.) 

Who can find a wife of noble character, a  virtuous and capable wife,  a woman who is just excellent?  The answer is:  A man who understands what a good woman is worth.  A man who understands what makes a woman WORTHY.

Not in dollars, but in every other sense. 

If she’s like every other girl you’ve slept with, then she’s “a dime a dozen” and that’s not wife value.

If access to her bed can be purchased by any man willing to spend the necessary funds---- regardless of the man’s character, intentions, or marital status----- she may be expensive; but, bro., she isn’t worthy.  She isn’t worth it.

If the sex is good, but the price of being with her is constant drama and unpredictable bouts of “seriously, how freakin’ ignorant can one woman be,” then you really need to re-calculate your sense of value.

And ladies, a really good man---especially one who paid attention to the advice of a wise mother----- will see your true value even when you don’t.

When you think you can’t, he’ll be absolutely, maybe nonchalantly certain that you can---- because he knows your true value.

When other men only smile at the sight of you boobs or your butt, you’ll catch your good man staring at your face, looking sideways into your eyes with a silly grin on his face.  (Now he’s also gonna smile at your boobs and butt.  A good man is still a man.)

Ladies, a smart man with a good sense of value, will see your true worth.  So if you say that  you’re worth/ worthy of a commitment; but your price is actually a trip to the mall------ he’ll see that, too.

If you say that you’re saving yourself for “the husband God sends me” when you’re really trying to hit the baller lottery and luck up on some random rich guy------ your could-have-been-the-one good man will see that, too.

Jacob, for all of his issues, knew what a good wife was worth.  He didn’t have money, but that wasn’t a problem, because an excellent wife cannot be appraised in dollars like something in a pawn shop jewelry display. 

A wife of noble character is worth your time.  She’s worth your effort. She’s worth building your family and fortunes together.   She’s worth betting everything you have.

Who can find a woman like that?

The man who knows what he’s looking for.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

 You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116