Friday, August 6, 2010

#180-Not Jezebel

Oh dear saints, we gather around this here parts again to remember all those backslidden youths from memory past. The backslidden males got lost in destroying their own body with self-worship of sports and inebriation through many illegal substances, and fornication of all kinds...

But it is the ladies... those precious females who we bow low to on this day and have a moment of silence...

For their fate was not on their own doing...

Rather, they started out innocent by listening to a Britney Spears song 3 times too many on the radio, including "I'm a Slave 4 You" and we all know that "you" in the song title is SATAN!

And this was all the room Satan needed to make an entry into the soul of the unknowing Apostolic female. For the moment Britney is provoked upon the ears, God's protecting grace goes for the hills in hatred of terribly written music.

But just like a frog that will remain in a boiling pot of water if the temperature is gradually and subtly increased over time from moderate temperature to boiling temperature, Satan's attacks are equally as subtle and equally as devastating. Unless the armies of the church mount around the "tempted" youthful female in intercessory prayer, she is bound to be lost...


And specifically what is the name of this Satanic attack to which countless women have fallen prey to?


It is none other than that which we know as "The Spirit of Jezebel!"


cue:


For the moment a girl in the church starts wearing that devil's paint, *cough* I mean make-up (be it mascara, cover-up, blush, colored chap stick, or even face-paint), it is not the girl's fault.

No, it's not that the girl wants to be pretty. It's not that the make-up is an indication of a low self-esteem the female has that has not found filling within the church. But rather, it is quite simply the Spirit of Jezebel in her!

For Jezebel is the over-arching trump card description of anytime a girl does something wrong.

So we show the girl scripture about where make-up is wrong, a la "shamefacedness" which really means it's a sin for a girl to walk in the street and make eye contact with a male (but let's not talk about that).

But why are we showing the girl scripture when her sin is not her fault, but that demonic spirit which is oppressing her? Surely, if Satan's attacks can't be stopped by God's grace, our human reason in scripture won't do either.




But let's talk about this Spirit of Jezebel... We have references to Jezebel in the Old Testament. References to a Prophetess Jezebel in Revelation who is definitely a real person... (which may or may not be the prophetesses real name)...

And we still can't find that scripture that describes her as a Spirit of vanity...

Let me see here....

It must be in scripture some where...

Because the Spirit of Jezebel has gotten more people kicked off the platform than any other Spirit combined...

Uggggh... This is kinda awkward...

ummmmm...

This stinks...

Because A "Spirit of Jezebel" is no where to be found... But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but every time I see Modesty mentioned in the New Testament, it's kind of like "yo girls, be modest." No spirit attached.

But whatever, forget about that, let's go to the actual story of Jezebel.

The source of everything...

2 Kings 9:30-(NLT)
"When Jezebel, the queen mother, heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids and fixed her hair and sat at a window."

Aha... There... You see... Any time you want to tempt someone, you go and paint your eyes...

Yes... Ladies... This is why we don't like Jezebel...

(child raises her hand)

Me: Yes?

Child: I noticed that it says Jezebel also fixed her hair after she painted her eyes?

Me: Yes, she probably combed it or arranged it to look pretty.

Child: Doesn't that mean that if painting your eyes is wrong because Jezebel did it, so is fixing your hair?

Me: Well... Umm... There are some things you just won't understand until you're older. This is one of them.

Child: That doesn't answer the question

Me: You see when you get older you get the answers by becoming a minister or minister's wife and you get to tell people what scripture is saying and when someone asks you questions like the one you just did you get to tell them to trust you as pastor or elder, because you have years of ministerial experience.

Child: That still doesn't answer the question.

Me: Well, you see that if I keep on telling you about my authority and how if God wanted you to learn something logical in scripture, he would have told me first, so you just have to trust me. And I will just keep talking about this and how you need to respect our traditions and the world we ministers operate is beyond the logic you are proposing...

Child: But mommy and sister take as long as two hours sometime to do their hair before church.

Me: Forget it!

Child: But you can't say painting your eyes is wrong because Jezebel did it, if you don't say arranging your hair is wrong as well. Or even looking out the window, which is the last thing it said Jezebel did. To argue differently is being dishonest to scripture.

Me: Well sometimes scripture appears to be dishonest and inconsistent but that's because you are a child and you can't read the scripture like us who have been in ministry for many many years can read scripture. 

Child: I am never arranging my hair again!

Me: Good luck finding a husband.

Child: But i thought you said the reason we don't wear make up is because we don't want to draw attention to ourselves and don't want to attract or tempt men. Arranging your hair does the same thing!

Me: Give me your Bible (rips bible out of child's hand and locates 2 Kings 9:30. grabs black marker and proceeds to black out the line "fixed her hair" from the child's Bible).

Child: Hey! Why did you do that for?

Me: Do what?

Child: You scribbled out "fixing her hair" from my Bible.

Me: It was for the best.

Child: I'm telling mom!

Me: (whispering to myself) The Spirit of Jezebel... It always gets them.

12 comments:

  1. Heres a post I wrote that explains why I dont wear makeup.
    http://gracefulthreads.blogspot.com/2009/03/makeup.html

    I think we *should* know why we have these standards and I think these standards should always be based on love and respect for God and others.

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  2. I actually believe modesty is a spirit. At least that's one of the things I've discovered in my walk with God. Without Him, I can't do anything, He had to give me a spirit of modesty in order for the glory to be His. Something about the treasure being in an earthen vessel I guess...

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  3. Graceful Threads,

    This post was not meant to be against make up (I think you caught that). I think modesty is a great principle. I am just not fond of bad logic that surrounds our defense of "no make up." We shroud the issue of make up with loud rhetoric and weird decrees, when the reality is, biblical argument for no make-up is bound to one verse. One verse is all you need, certainly, but i know of many more verses defining Christianity as giving to the poor, but yet some how we hear make-up being preached against exponentially more than condemnation for us not giving.

    And as for the line, "standard should always be based on love and respect for God and others," I couldn't have said it better myself. You are wonderful.

    Ishta,

    Bingo! I do think modesty is birthed by the spirit. It can't be forced. When the spirit has done it's work internally then the outside will show it. Making dogma of an issue which is birthed by internal, spiritual revelation becomes a battle that will be wrought with strife and frustration.

    Godspeed to you all and all who you may encounter,

    Joel

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  4. Joel, great post.

    People will often pull the modesty card out in regards to make-up, but in reality modesty is a relative term. What is modest for one might be immodest or vanity to another. In the USA wearing a tie is modest in church (sort of), yet in some countries they are a needless luxury and immodest to wear in church.

    Modesty comes down to your heart, why are you doing what you do, why are you wearing you wear? This means nobody can dictate this to you because they can't know your heart. This means developing a personal relationship with Christ and being able to walk with Him and being honest with yourself because God knows your heart.

    Some may say we simply say we shouldn't draw attention to ourselves, thus we must avoid make-up, but this is silly because even being modest can draw attention to oneself if you look out of place in a setting. As you have pointed out Joel, why stop with make-up with this logic, why not include lotion, bath oils, fancy shampoo and conditioners to make your hair shiny, tooth paste with whitener, hair gel, hair spray...?

    OK, one more thing...I think a lot of problems would be solved if people would use a dictionary before assuming what words mean before they teach.

    shamefaced (means):

    1. modest or bashful.
    2. showing shame: shamefaced apologies.

    It doesn't have anything to do with your face or how you dress, its a state of being with your heart and mind that reflects how you act. Thus even pushing humility can be an act of pride if your heart is to showcase how holy you are because of your level of humility and pride is a sin.

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  6. Shamefaced comes from the word aidos and means *with downcast eyes*.

    Makeup says Yoo Hoo! Look at me. Look at my eyes. Look at my lips. Makeup makes the features bold and sensualizes. It accentuates the features of a woman to make her sensual.

    If this is not the case then why dont we put it on our little girls? Why are we so repulsed by these little toddlers with tiaras? Even the world knows that is not appropriate.

    I dont think everyone who wears makeup is going to hell, I do think that when we really do regard and respect others we wont want to scream HEY! Look at my mouth and eyes. Look at me! Your not my husband but admire my features anyway. Thats not loving and regarding others in fact that could be tempting others.

    Red lips and purple eyelids are rarely meek, they dont convey a quiet Godly, bashful spirit.

    Again, not saying all makeup wearers will burn in hell.

    I agree with the OP that there is so much more about serving the poor in the Bible than there is makeup. We certainly are lopsided on some of these issues.

    I dont agree with Aaron who says lotion and soap are the same as makeup. Lotion and soap is just good hygiene!

    I do agree that being shamfaced is a heart issue. However when we get our hearts right we will indeed manifest that heart outwardly in how we act and yes even how we look.

    I agree many are trying to hang purty fruit on dead trees. We get the root/fruit all mixed up.

    When our hearts are bowed our faces and clothes will be a reflection of that bowed heart. When the root is Jesus we cant help but bare fruit that looks like Him.

    http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/aidos.html

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  7. @Graceful Threads I can see how you would not think lotions and soaps are like make up but lets take a look. There is a massive industry in cosmetics and care of one's body. Many soaps are more than just a simple cleaning element for hygiene, but are scented and made to add to one's scent. Many soaps are marketed that you can attract the opposite sex because of how good they smell and that they can make you more attractive. Herbal Essence, Old Spice, Zest...the list goes on. We are no longer looking at simple unscented soaps, but soaps engineered to attract and make one sexier.

    Many lotions are created much the same way, scented, with sparkles, or tanners promising to make you more attractive and sexier. There are lotions and soap shops dedicated to just lotions and soaps all with purpose of enhancing beauty and making one more attractive to the opposite sex.

    These are the same principals of make-up. So are lotions and soaps just like make up? Yes, many are because the principals for their use are the same when they go beyond simple hygiene.

    The Word "aidos" actually comes from Aidos, the Greek goddess of shame, modesty, and humility. It was often used to describe the emotion that a rich person might feel in the presence of a poor person. Thus one would might to feel aidos or condemnation because of one's stature in life for having while another does not have as much as you. This was often associated with turning away or looking down, or showing humility. Shamefaced may have roots in the word "aidos" however neither word has anything to do with painting one's eyes, although looking down or turning away is often associated with humility, condemnation or shame.

    We do run into some interesting theological issues if we are to use the word shamefaced "adios" outside of humility and use it for looking away in shame or condemnation because in Romans we are told to live free of condemnation. We also run into another issue with thinking that we can somehow justify ourselves before God by wearing or not wearing make-up (Romans, Galatians…). True holiness, redemption and justification is only through Christ and the power of the cross, and not by any works that we can merit His grace that was given to us as a gift.

    There is also a problem with using the child argument for why a woman should not wear make up. The same could be said for high-heals, caring a gun, driving a car, baptizing at an early age before the child is aware of accountability, working a full-time job…the list goes one. In our society it is customary to have our children wait things they are not ready for mentally, which is why they aren't placed into elementary school until they are at least 4.5 years old. The same way we don't marry our children off, but yet getting married is OK when they are old enough.

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  8. 'cont...

    "aidos" is also associated with the word
    "reverence" which is an outward feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe; the outward manifestation of this feeling - to pay reverence. Again both the word "reverence" and "shamefaced" are about feeling, a state of inner being and have nothing to do with what you wear.

    1 Timothy 2:9 Paul is dealing with a situation where the woman were over dressing (not that they were dressing "slutty"), their hearts were about what they were wearing, rather than God (the haves and have nots). He was telling them that being flashy for the sake of getting attention to show what they had, needed to change, more than that Paul addresses their heart and uses words like "shamefaced", "self-control" and "sobriety".

    In 2:8 he exhorts them men that they should gather without anger and quarreling. Paul was addressing a heart issue here more than what people wore because the outward apparel was only a manifestation of what was going on in the heart.

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  9. If makeup is *EVIL* then is God evil for giving girls breasts and buttocks? Both of which as a male i appreciate more than make up i can assure you. Seriously when do we just have to be grown up? A girl doesn't need make up to be "pretty hot and tempting". Would human behavior be any better if make up were abolished? Would there be less baby making? No, babies 'always find a way' of being made(they are capitalistic that way you see).

    If make up is wrong then is showering wrong, and will we go back to the time where holiness was measured by the amount of dirt underneath your fingers? I mean showering makes you pleasant to the opposite sex does it not? So therefore showering is evil in the same way that make up is evil. Well if showering and make up are evil because they make men attracted to women(not the case-they may assist but these are not where the origin of sexual attraction are found) which doesnt follow at all because these things dont stop people from procreating. We blame the symptoms and are busy sawing away at limbs while a simple antiseptic sits unused in the corned because we dont understand and our grandfathers didnt preach it that way. instead of realizing that we are the problem, not make up, not standards we project the problem off of ourselves(for we are surely God's chosen!) and onto the secular world(which shares in the law do they not? how then are they at fault if the same basic law is written on their hearts?Rom 2:14). we lack virtue, we lack restraint, we lack will to be righteous.

    Mat 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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  10. Joel,
    Thanks for making me laugh early this morning. I love the dialogue between you and the child. One of my favorite posts ever.

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  11. If we read 1 Tim. 2:9.10 and 1 Peter 3:3 and all we get out of it is no makeup then we are missing the whole point that the authors were making. They are saying make yourselves attractive to people by the good things that you do, which is a result of a renewed mind in Christ.

    I think that Apo's are just as guilty of contradicting this verse then those who spatter their face with makeup. The verse is saying not to concentrate on outer beauty and making yourselves look good by the way you dress, or do your hair, or by wearing ornamentation. If we think back to the last youth congress or any sectional youth event, or district camp, we see 99% of the girls there trying to look good by having these fancy dresses and elaborate hairstyles. I mean Apo’s are known for our crazy hairstyles and this is just as much a violation of the verses teaching then makeup or ornamental jewelry. The point is, we need to teach the principle of living a modest existence separated unto God by a renewed mind. A follower of Christ should focus on inner beauty and be modest in everything.

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  12. Oh dear. The last picture of this post needs to be replaced with a picture of a killer whale or SOMETHING. She's wearing a little (lot?) more than the VS models mentioned a few posts back, but STILL!

    Totally joking! :)

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