Arise Sleeper

So the captain came to him, and said to him, "What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish." Jonah 1:6

I was struck by this verse a couple days ago when I read it and I can't get it out of my head.
     It got me thinking, have I been sleeping in my tasks, or have I risen up?
If I am completing a task without thanking God or beseeching His help, am I acting asleep?

When I forget to call on God in my hardships, it is as if I was asleep.

If you structure this verse it could become:
           What do you mean, sleeper?
                     Arise,
                               Call on your God
                             Perhaps your God
                     Will consider us
            So that we may not perish

Chiastically structering the verse this way shows that the first half is what we are to do, and the second half is God's response. Return to the Lord, and He will return unto you it says in Zechariah.
   It also shows it is completely out of our control. God may just consider us. Or He may not.
Sleeper is tied to perish. Arise with consider and call with perhaps.
  Oh, Lord, may we pray to You each day. Hear us, Lord.

                  

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth

I was thinking about birthdays this week. I'm the type of person who doesn't think three different parties is extravagant.
 Especially if you had a: 1. Family party 2. Friends party 3. BFF party
(all parties with different people)
 Afterall, a birthday is a real reason to celebrate each year. Not everyone can party all the time, nor should they. I am of the opinion that everyone should celebrate their birthday each year. Here are some reasons why:

1. Getting older is a blessing from God. Our culture is so obsessed with staying young that sometimes people gripe and complain about another year being gone. Complaining about our age is like complaining that God made us and sustains us. Celebrating your birthday can help you delight in the present time and make you thankful.

2. Celebrating birthdays promotes community. One of the best reasons to get together is to celebrate your loved ones birthdays. We have so many people in our family, we almost celebrate a birthday every month now! It's great!

3. Celebrating a birthday isn't just about the birthday person. It is, however, a good opportunity to let your birthday friend know how much you love them. When it's my own birthday, I try to bless others through my  parties. Dispite what some people say, having a birthday doesn't mean you get to do whatever the heck you want. It also doesn't give you permission to go out and get smashed. You also shouldn't expect presents. Afterall, you wouldn't be born if it wasn't for your parents. Maybe you should give them a present on your birthday. ;)

So go out there and party!!!!

Women and Thorns

Postmodern Ethics

I just spent the last few days finishing a paper for school. This paper was for an Ethics class I am required to take. Unfortunately, the things I have learned in that class scare me.

What I learned is that Post-modernism is evolving. It used to be, only a couple years ago when I first started school that the humanistic books I had to read still believed in the innate goodness of man. In my recent ethics class, I’ve discovered that no longer can we condemn Hitler for his crimes against humanity. Before there was an “every belief is equal as long as it doesn’t hurt mankind” mentality. Nowadays, goodness depends on the culture and everyone is free to make any sort of decision they want to.

Some ethical theories claim that man is completely egotistical, and will always act on that. Others claim that only through caring can we fulfill our beliefs. But caring about everything leads us nowhere.

My answer for all of this is Total Depravity and Christ’s Grace. Yes, every single one of us is born with a sin filled heart. This does not mean we can’t be constantly transformed by the grace of God.

Women in the Workforce

My paper is about the Ethics of Caring and women in the workforce. This is an ethical theory created by women in the 1970s to now that explores the differences between men’s and women’s ethics. Professor Gilligan spoke about an idea she had called Difference Feminism:

Difference Feminism is not like equality feminism, where women try to be more and more like men. Equality feminism is backfiring in our current generation. Girls are climbing up the work place by becoming like men and losing their “voices” in the process. In contrast difference feminism embraces the real dissimilarities between men and women. These differences are not based on mere sociological or biological characteristics, but are physiologically grounded.

–my paper

The corporate world was completely structured by men. I’m not saying that is a bad thing, since men are the ones who are to go out and toil:

Cursed is the ground because of you;
   through painful toil you will eat food from it
   all the days of your life.
¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
   and you will eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow
   you will eat your food—Genesis 3

In 2009, 46% of workers in the United States were women. That number is increasing each year. They are being thrown into the man’s world of business. Instead of growing and learning from this, most male dominated companies seem to pretend the women are men (except management positions are excluded). The problem is, women do not think the way men do. Also, the Bible says a man is to be head over his wife, not every man over every woman.

 Instead of turning into men, women should help transform the working environment. After all, it’s a woman’s job to be a helper for her husband, and a single woman’s job to change the world for Christ. Transformation only happens through justice and compassion. I’m not asking women to turn their workplace into a gossip hall, but they can add their own unique gifts, like attention to detail and compassion, to improve the work environment.  

Ignoring Difference Feminism can have even worse effects on women. Women don’t have any problems getting jobs now, but they are still trained to think like men. It’s one thing to be equal to men; it’s another thing to be exactly the same. Women shouldn’t be upset when there are more men in a certain field of work. We were all made to do different things. What women should be upset about is when they see their friends behave like men. Women have amazing gifts of sharing compassion with others. We can’t lose that when we join the workforce. We can’t be afraid to speak up.

The woman from Proverbs considers a field then buys it. Looks like men aren’t the only ones to toil in a field. Notice it doesn’t mention any thorns involved. ;)