written by Joseph Spurgeon
“She is loud and rebellious, her feet do not stay in the house” (Proverbs 11:7)
The Book of Proverbs gives a wonderful picture of the difference between a godly woman and a wicked woman. One of the characteristics of a pious woman is that she “sees the ways of her household” (Proverbs 31:27). The primary focus of a pious woman is the home. It’s not that she’s a kitchen slave or always locked in a house, but her primary focus is on the house. The diligent work she does as an assistant to her husband is taking care of the family. She is a calm, submissive and hardworking woman so that her husband can trust her while he is far from being in control of the earth.
Evil woman is not. It’s noisy. She’s a rebel, and she does everything she can to get away from home. Her focus is on the outside even if she makes a big show of being home focused. It is given to malicious gossip, contempt for authority, and superstition. (Titus 2:3 advises older women to avoid these things and teach younger women to work at home.) Her husband should not trust her.
Now we are all familiar with the stark ways our culture has encouraged women to put their focus anywhere but the home. But even for women who do not pursue the career ladder, there is a temptation not to keep their feet at home.
Years ago this temptation was through daily soap operas. A woman can leave the house without leaving the house. They can get caught up in the artificial drama, gossip, and rebellion of “Bold and the Beautiful.” They can indirectly experience the rebellion of the “young and turbulent” during the “days of their lives”. But Day Time Soaps ratings are now declining. Some media outlets have described TV series as a “dying genre”. why is that?
Well, why watch manufactured drama when you can be a part of real drama on social media? You can keep your feet away from home while sitting in your living room on your cell phone. Some women can make a big show about being at home, while spending all their time on Facebook spreading malicious gossip, creating Facebook pages that make fun of pastors, older women, and other leaders and going from thread of comments to thread of comments critical of anyone who disagrees with them. You can be a rowdy and rebellious regiment with your feet away from home on the Internet. You can live “young and restless” on the ground. This is the path of the wicked.
A wise woman can use social media in a way that maintains her kind, calm and diligent spirit. She can show respect for and for authority. She can use social media in a way that honors God and makes her husband say, “A lot of girls have done a shit, but you outdo them all.” She can use social media in such a way that she doesn’t have her feet constantly wandering.
But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which does not spoil, even the ornament of a quiet, meek soul which in the sight of God is costly.
1 Peter 3:4
