Is your wife more spiritual than you are?

Wives must not disrupt worship, talking when they should be listening, asking questions that could more appropriately be asked of their husbands at home. God's Book of the law guides our manners and customs here. Wives have no license to use the time of worship for unwarranted speaking. Do you—both women and men—imagine that you're a sacred oracle determining what's right and wrong? Do you think everything revolves around you? - 1 Corinthians 14:34-36

This is yet another indication of how men are called to be the spiritual leaders of their families. Granted, this passage goes against our modern ways of thinking about home life and church, but Paul is emphatic that husbands should be able to answer the spiritual questions from their wives.

Men often neglect the study of scripture as too ethereal, too time consuming, too boring, or just not football-y enough. But, if we don't read and study and spend time in God's word, how can we really be what we're called to be - spiritual leaders of our households?

In Spanish, there are two words for "read." The word "recitar" (to read) means to read in a way you can repeat, or "recite" the text. The word "estudiar" also means read, but to read deeply, to study. I need to estudio mas and recito menor.

My wife gets up early to read her bible. My wife goes to a bible study with other women, as well as our small group study. My wife prays daily, and not just before meals (I KNOW!) I need to do a better job of being a spiritual head of my family. How about you?

Sex, sex, sex

So, there's this guy Paul. Now, Paul is pretty famous. In fact, he wrote most of the New Testament, so he and God are like this (fingers crossed). At one point in his life, Paul is writing a letter to some folks at a church, maybe a church like ours, and he says something weird... he actually starts to call out one particular type of sin. In fact, what he says is, "No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one...." Hmmm... you mean all sin isn't the same? There are some sins that affect us differently?

Well, of course, Paul is talking about sexual sin. In fact, what he says is, "Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." - 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

See, Paul says run from sexual sin. In other versions, he says flee. Get away from. Turn around from. Do not go near sexual sin. But the mistake most of us make is to draw an imaginary line somewhere and think as long as we stay on this side of the line, we're okay, but when we go over there, we're in trouble and so we inch closer and closer and see how far we can go without going over the line. That's not a new concept, either. In fact, God tried laying down rules about sex but that didn't work. So, now, we try to make our own rules about what's on this side of the line and what's on that side. What that looks like to us may be this... I can look as long as I don't touch. It's okay to watch that/ read that/ go to that website. I'm not hurting anyone. What's it hurt to go to her to get my haircut? What's it hurt to look out the window at the neighbor's daughter who's home from college cutting the grass in her bikini?

But the bible tells us differently. We should flee. Run. "Run away!" There is no line. Sex is great, marvelous, magical, God-sent, and fun. In the right context. Like fire, sex can warm, comfort, entertain, and illuminate. But uncontained, it can burn, scar and even kill.

The great thing is, no matter what you've done, no matter how you've screwed up, you can come to Christ and He will make you new. Anyone. Any man, woman, boy, girl. Anyone can find new life in Him.

Peace