It's Tough Being a Woman in a Mean World

A few weeks ago I had to take Erin to Shriner's hospital, and the lady who was checking us in had this piece of paper on the wall. I asked her to provide me a with a copy, and she kindly did.

Watch your 'Thoughts,'

they become your words;

Watch your 'Words,'

they become actions;

Watch your 'Actions,'

they become habits;

Watch your 'habits,'

they become character;

Watch 'Character,'

for it becomes your 'Destiny.'

Haman's thoughts became his words that led to his actions which eventually led to his destiny of being impaled on a gallow he had made for someone else. Meanness has at least three outlets. Do you struggle with any of these areas, or maybe you recognize these in someone else?

1. Thoughts -- Has anything ever just rubbed you the wrong way? And no matter what you do, it's stuck in your craw, and then it begins to fester. The enemy would like nothing more than to get into our heads and do the maximum amount of damage without doing too much of the work. Whether it is fear, a real or perceived threat, or mental anguish that has a hold of our mind, it is a foothold for Satan. The way we combat this is with truth and the word of God. Colossians 3:2 tells us to "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Philippians 4:8 says "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." When the wrong thoughts enter our minds, we must replace it with truth.


2. Speech -- It's not just bigots that show their true colors by the words of their mouths, but gossipers and slanderers are also known for their unbridled tongues. Haman selectively chose his words, so they would be more palatable. "There is a certain people" sounds very vague and ambiguous, but if he were to have said Mordecai and the Jews, don't you think that would have set off some type of an alarm because it gives a face and a name and a life to those "certain people." By using "certain people," he also removed the fact that this was a personal vendetta, and he appealed to the king's sense of honor and supposed best interest. Matthew 12:34 b states, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." James 3:8 - 9 "but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness." The Bible advises us in Proverbs 21: 23 "He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity," and in Psalms 141:3 "Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips."


3. Actions -- Haman wasn't satisfied with just killing Mordecai. He wanted to destroy Mordecai and all his people. Some people get angry and never get over it. The anger turns inward and seethes into bitterness. Some just aren't satisfied with taking their anger out on one subject but submit a whole family to their wrath.

As Christians, we need to diligently monitor our thoughts, speech, and actions because if we too closely resemble the Hamans of this world, people won't know we are Christians. We will have become assimilated to this culture and not to our heavenly calling. Ladies, let's control our thoughts and focus on the things that are true, so Satan cannot have a foothold into our lives. Let's use our mouths to edify one another and not tear others down. Even if you hear something that is true yet negative about someone else, that doesn't mean you have to share it. Our actions should reflect those of our heavenly Father, and we need to practice self-restraint and commit our actions unto the Lord.

It's important to control our thoughts because they do lead to words that become actions and eventually determines our destiny, our destiny in Christ.

We look forward to seeing you next week. Be praying for one another.