Recently, I was on a flight from DFW to LAX and where a lady in the aisle across from me was reading People magazine. I was engulfed in Radical by David Platt but my eyes needed a break. I glanced over to see her gazing at immodest pictures of celebrities. Though probably in her mid-60's, the lady was dressed like a teenager. It definitely wasn't fitting. It broke my heart to think of her wasting her life, her time, and her energy on a worthless magazine. I could only imagine that she wanted to be young again and was coveting the beauty of the world’s most famous people. The Bible says that “everyone at their best state is a vapor” (Psalm 39:5). Life is short. Beauty is quickly passing and so are the lusts of this world. When I’m 65—if the Lord allows me to see that age—I want to be studying the Word of God, listening to sermons, reaching the lost, doing service for the local Church and spending my minutes, hours and days consumed with the Kingdom of God and service to the King. I don’t want to be consumed with myself or the eye candy of our age, because it doesn't last and will never satisfy (Proverbs 27: 20).
People magazine is not to be the godly woman’s diet. The godly woman doesn't listen to the counsel of Vogue magazine. She takes no delight in reading worldly advice in Cosmopolitan and doesn't compare herself to the pictures in Glamour magazine. She does not seek praise from the world.
Rather, a woman who fears the Lord will meditate on the Word of God day and night. She will compare herself to what the Bible says is a woman who fears God. She will hunger and thirst for righteousness and desire to know the One who redeemed her. That woman will be worthy of praise. "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night" (Psalm 1:1).
This Christmas season, take the time to evaluate if there are things in your life that you look at or watch that are creating in you a desire to be like this world. Are you giving those things your precious time and energy? Instead, be like King David who said “I will set no evil thing before my eyes” (Psalm 101:3)? My challenge to you this season and for all the days of your life is to model the psalmist who said, “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8).
Take a moment and go to FishWithTrish.com. Look on the left-hand side of the page, then click on “2 Minute Evangelism Tips”. The first video will start automatically. The short clips featured on this page will give you practical ways to be busy about God’s business during this Christmas season - in fact, make sure you look for the Christmas video. You might want to try the tip featured on this video with your church friends or family members.
Maybe you’re reading this and thoughts of discouragement have entered your mind because the year is almost gone and you feel like you haven’t made any progress for God’s kingdom. Be encouraged friend, because it’s not how well you start but how well you finish. On the “2 Minute Evangelism Tips” page, there are only 7 videos only 2 minutes in duration each. It will take only 14 minutes to watch all of them. Once you do, I encourage you to try one of the tips. Then email me and tell me what happened (email@fishwithtrish.com). I want to hear from you.
Each day when the mail comes, I quickly identify what is junk and what is not. I sift out what is important and shred what isn't. Maybe you need to do this with what you watch and look at or where you spend your valuable time. Identify what is good for your soul and builds you up and spend your time and energy there. Paul the apostle said, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify" (1 Corinthians 10:23). Maybe there's something in your life that isn't sin per se, but is it beneficial for you? Would the Lord be pleased with what pages you are viewing on the internet? Or how much time you spend looking at photos on Facebook that provoke you to covet the way others look, or to covet their things or status in life?
Perhaps it's time to do inventory of the magazines or books or internet pages you read and throw some things out. Today is a new day. Remember, the Lord's mercies are new every morning. He is rich in mercy and full of compassion (Psalm 148:8). Cry out to Him today and ask Him to help you be a focused and purposeful woman who fears Him. Let’s be ladies that are focused on eternal things this Christmas—things that will be of eternal value on the day when we meet the King of Kings (Titus 3:8).
"No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier" (2 Timothy 2:4).
24 comments:
There's a strange parallel here...
Dear Azou, sorry I'm not following.
Dear Azou, please post comments that are understandable so that myself or others can comment. Thank you and I hope you are doing well. Have a good night.
Amen! I learned years ago not to compare myself to worldy people. What matters is what God thinks of me! Love this post:) You're such an inspiration to me:)
I love this Trish!
I re-posted it on my blog, hope that's okay!
Certainly, Stephanie. Thanks for re-posting it. God bless you.
Thanks Becca for the encouragement tonight.
Such a good reminder!
Did you by any chance give that lady a tract? Just wondering because a lot of times I see those same sad things around me but it's not until later that I think I should have given them a tract!
Charlene, Thanks for asking. She was one row ahead of me and to the right - so she wasn't right next to me. But, I'm pretty sure I gave her tract.
Such a good blog post! You stirred up so many thoughts in my head on this subject.
Those magazines feed the natural hunger in women to be beautiful, but they turn what can be a godly desire to be presentable into an ungodly desire to get glory for how you look. I think the same thing is true of many movies today. So much screen time is given to the faces and bodies of beautiful women. When a woman watches those movies, it creates a hunger in her for the same kind of admiration the woman onscreen is receiving. And to feed that hunger, she has to dress more immodestly, or flirt, or do something to get the attention she is now seeking.
It is so freeing to not have to worry about worldly beauty, because then I can be thankful for how I look and move on—and not waste my precious seconds here on earth obsessing over my appearance. I’ve found it to be absolutely true for me, that the less I care about how I look, the happier I am with how I look, my weight, everything. If I start to care about my appearance, then, naturally, I want to look better. And then I want to be recognized for looking better, and that begins a very worthless cycle.
But if I just keep my heart and mind focused on things that will matter on the day I stand before Christ—on the day I receive my heavenly body, the one that WILL matter, because that is the appearance I will have forever—then it’s so much easier to dress and act in the way that glorifies God on earth.
Daniel 12:3 “Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” This is the look worth pursuing! This is what looking good really looks like.
What's sad is when I was traveling doing MISSIONS I would read those same magazines on long layovers and flights! It created a lot of dissatisfaction and discontent in my life, and the Lord really convicted my heart about it.
That was about 5 years ago, and I put down the magazines, and since have also made a habit of not read tabloids when I'm standing in the checkout line. I try to make eye contact with people instead of getting sucked in to the drama... sometimes it's such a distraction and I've had to take a few magazines to the manager b/c of extremely inappropriate content on the cover - at eye-level with my 4-year-old. It's war!
Thanks for a courageous post. Such ideas are not popular, even among the Christian church culture!
Encouraging insights Katie
Encouraging insights Katie
"Let's make up horrible things about someone we don't know and use her as an example!"
"Wow, at least we're not that tacky woman!"
Amen!
@ Azou.
Hey hombre! Looks like this thread is Girl Talk. You want to stop by my blog for some manly conversation and a cup of joe?
How 'bout them Giants.
Craig
Very good thoughts in this post. I find myself as I get older wanting to emulate those Christian ladies who are mature in their faith. These are the truly beautiful women. It is the light and life in them that illuminates their faces and I am drawn to people like that. I still struggle with not being in my 20s anymore but it is getting less and less as I grow.
Trish, you keep letting obvious spam posts in. Just look at Chelle's post and tell me that's at all related to this blog.
I can't believe someone with such strict rules about URLs allows that stuff in.
AZOU!!
Don't sweat the spam!
Azou, thank you for watching out for my blog. I've deleted the spam.
An email that came in on this post:
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Did it every occur to you that it is you that is wasting your life, your time, and your energy in a worthless book such as Radical?
Maybe you should make a list of Bible verse you violate every day of your life. I'll help you get started with Matthew 7:5 Jesus said, "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
Who or what gives YOU the right to judge people like this?
J.E. Hill
theskepticalreview.com/
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Lord, I pray that you'd open J.E's heart and cause him to turn to you tonight.
just wanted to say that i agree with Katie Hoffman's comment :)
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