Equal, But Different

When women stop seeking validation and approval from men, their equity will grow. Some women dress seductively for men. Wear heels for the approval of men. Buy hair and make-up for men. Quit their jobs for men. Surrender their will to men who don't surrender their will to God. Live under the pretense that man knows what's best instead of God.

Should women who live subjectively to men expect equal treatment?

According to Genesis 1:26, God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and to let them have dominion over every living thing that creeps on the earth. And, according to Genesis 1:27, "God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

These verses share how God equally created men and women in His image to have dominion over the earth in our own distinctive roles. If women grasp hold of this knowledge, maybe women will seek equality through the Image of God instead of man.

Do you want to get well?

A fourteen year-old boy was stabbed to death in an effort to protect his mother from her live-in boyfriend. According to numerous sources, Prince George’s County has the highest rate of domestic violence cases in the state of Maryland; despite its recognition as one of the most affluent counties for African Americans.

The mother praised her son for his efforts to protect her when she spoke outside Potomac High School – where her son attended. She described her relationship with her live-in boyfriend as a friendship and stated, “I think sometimes you never think that helping someone will end up in this matter.” Our paraphrase, she never thought her efforts to help someone would result in her son’s death.

John Chapter 5 talks about a pool called Bethesda where sick people laid in wait for an angel to stir the pool water and whoever stepped in first would get healed from whatever disease they had. A man lying by the pool with an infirmity for thirty-eight years caught Jesus’ attention because He knew the infirmed man suffered with this condition for a long time. Jesus asked the infirmed man, “Do you want to be made well?” The infirmed man’s response, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

The debilitating health of many people lingers too long because of their beliefs and emotional strongholds. Unfortunately, many women fall prey to men who play victim of their inability to be fully engaged in society as a result of unhealed wounds or their choice to hold onto behaviors that contribute to violence. For thirty-eight years, the infirmed man waited for assistance to get in the pool of Bethesda. Jesus could have laid him in the pool, but instead, He told the man to, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” Immediately, the man was made well, he took up his bed, and he walked.

Too many women are dying by the hands of men who haven’t recognized their need to get healed. So, women please stop jeopardizing the safety and sanity of yourself and family in the name of love and salvation. You do not have the power to heal or save, but God does. And, his healing and salvation is available to anyone who needs and wants it.

Identity

Have you ever attended a special occasion and observed how individuals describe themselves? “I’m a doctor, lawyer, an accountant, or an entrepreneur." If accomplishments, titles, degrees, or material things were taken away, how would they be identified?

The social arena is inundated with individuals pretending to be something they're not. And what's startling is people who are normally content with their identity, become discontent after interacting with a new social group or environment.

The Apostle Paul was a persecutor of the followers of Christ, and was miraculously converted to a follower himself. Paul realized it was God's grace that made him who he had become - an Ambassador for Christ. As an Ambassador, Paul traveled to different countries to organize churches and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was not ashamed of being a servant of God and did not waiver in his new identity with Him.

If you have a relationship with God without titles or a series of letters behind your name, be proud to be His servant. Accomplishments without a relationship with Him are good, but their value outside His will may not hold much weight.

Praise God for who you are - His workmanship for good works preordained before the foundation of the earth (Ephesians 2:10). And walk boldly in your creation because you were fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God (Psalm 139:14).

Feelings vs. Facts

Feelings can be a challenge to prove in the workplace. They’re challenging because some feelings aren’t based on current realities, but on experiences that can cloud the truth.

If you’ve experienced an offence at work, think before you respond or react. And if you want an apology or resolve from the offender, here are a few things to consider:

• Was the offence intentional? If so, can you prove it?
• What was your emotional state when the offence occurred?
• Are you viewing the current offence through the lens of your past?
• What impact does the offence have on you and the company as a whole if it’s not addressed and resolved?

Telling someone how we feel in the workplace may be impossible to validate without tangible proof. One sure way to get heard is to measure offensive behaviors against the company’s mission and core values which should be outlined in the company’s employee handbook. Also, make sure you have the ability to show your value to the company as a problem-solver, not a complainer or whiner. You can do so when you speak more about what your company does and less about how you feel.

Pursue Your Greatest Self

In 1996, The SOFEI Group started in the apartment living room of its current Chief Empowerment Officer (CEO) under the umbrella of Virtuous Enterprises, Inc. The organization’s foundation was spiritually and biblically-based because the CEO discovered the challenges many women faced stemmed from how they viewed themselves and their lack of faith and belief in a Being higher than themselves; not because of limited access to resources.

We set our heights to empower women to transform their lives by transforming their minds through biblically-based fellowships and our quarterly newsletter - Inspirational Expressions. As we evolved, we realized we lost focus on our spiritual core.

What was true at our origin stands true today; women cannot achieve or be their greatest without knowing their true power. Unfortunately, this power has been decreased to sexuality and looks, and this power isn’t sustainable like our innate power during seasonal challenges.

Oprah Winfrey states, “Everyone is trying to pursue their greatest being of their true selves.” If this is true for you, here are a few things to consider:

• Seek God first and His wisdom (Matthew 6:13; James 1:5).
• Pray and give thanks always (I Thessalonians 5:17-18).
• See yourself as God does because we were fearfully and wonderfully made in His image (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 139:14).
• Get rid of limited beliefs about God and your potential because through Him all things are possible and we can do any and every thing through His power and strength (Matthew 19:26; Philippians 4:13).
• Govern your life according to God’s will because He will not withhold things that are good from people that walk upright (Psalm 84:11).
• Live life with abundance filled with joy, hope, love, and contentment (John 10:10).
• Trust God with your heart, mind, and soul (Proverbs 3:5).

We are three-dimensional beings and in order to be our true selves we have to connect to our spirit. Our spirit is like our heart, we can’t live without it. If we attempt to live without an ignited spirit, we’re existing and not living the life God intended.

Fret Not

Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked. – Psalm 24:19

Fretting is energy that can leave you stagnant. Quite frankly, it’s wasted energy. Whether your co-worker gets your dream job without much effort, a friend with a promiscuous past gets married during your season of singleness, a surprise break-up, or a family member moves into their luxury abode while you struggle to pay rent, envy will leave you powerless.

The hurt or disappointment does not entitle you to live a life looking through the lens of anger, rage, or worry. It does give you an opportunity to learn how to accept and deal with the growing prevalence of evil, ill-treatment, and personal deficiencies. Critic Samuel Johnson advised, "He who has so little knowledge of human nature to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief which he purposes to remove."

Thinking, talking, and hoarding envy, keeps it alive and seeking revenge can rob you of positive creativity and internal peace.

According to Roman 12:19, “vengeance belongs to God and He will repay.” So, turn every negative situation and person over to God and put envy to rest.

Giving: An Antedote to Poverty?

God instructed The Prophet Elijah to travel to Zarephath (a city of Sidon) and dwell with a poor widow to escape drought and a grievous famine in Israel. When Elijah arrived in the city, he saw a widow woman gathering sticks and he asked her, “Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink.” And while she was going to get the water, he asked her to bring him a morsel of bread. Her response, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin and little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

Elijah’s response, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’” The poor widow woman fulfilled Elijah’s request. As a result, she and her household ate for many days without running out of flour and oil. And, life was restored to her sick son.

When people are in need, some tend to their needs first before others. This is especially true for women and families living without basic necessities for an extended period of time. However, the widow woman did not allow her extremities to prevent her from making provisions for Elijah. Following are a few characteristics the widow woman exuded that changed her impoverished stance:

• She was not a complainer.
• She was very humble and industrious.
• She was charitable and generous.
• She had strong faith and confidence in God and His word.

There are different levels and types of poverty – situational, generational, and extreme. The solution for each need different strategies, but a simple way out of many struggles could be tied to how we give. This view doesn’t minimize or trivialize the seriousness of poverty and its impact, but it does demonstrate the impact of giving. Just as poverty have different levels and types, so does giving.

Matthew 10:8b states, “Freely you have received, freely give.” Galatians 6:7b, states, “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” And, Luke 6:38 states, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

The measure of our lives will be determined by how we give, not how we receive. How does your life measure up?

Note: Bible verses are from The King James Version of the Bible.