by Shannon Steuerwald

We women are many things: helpers, nurturers, complementarians, encouragers, organizers, and teachers. God created a capable and beautiful person when He created woman from the rib of Adam. Having said that, I fear that many of us may desire to be what God wants us to be but fall short in actually becoming a spiritually mature Christian woman. Paul describes a frightening scene in 2 Timothy. Can you imagine having a snake creep into your home and curl up under your dining room table while you eat a meal with your family? In so many words, Paul describes how evil creeps into our homes and strikes us to poison our hearts and minds against Truth, and Paul writes that the woman of the home welcomes the creepy, crawling creatures of deceit! I read Paul’s account and say to myself, “That could be me! That could be my family!”  I also begin asking the question, “What can I do to avoid this snare?” If ever there is a Scripture passage that should scare and then wake up every Christian woman, it is this passage:

2 Timothy 3:1-7—This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

In these verses, Paul describes “perilous times” to us. We may read this passage and assume it does not apply to us because Paul is describing what will happen in the last days. But, Ladies, we are in the last days; and we are seeing this list of sinful behaviors manifested all around us. I doubt any of us would consider ingratitude as a really bad thing, but it is listed. I doubt any of us would consider our disobedient children to be really bad people, but disobedience to parents is listed. The list includes what we would call minor and major sins, although in God’s eyes every sin is unholy. The list sets us up for the last two verses where I found myself saying, “That could be me!”  Let me paraphrase the last few verses for you.

There are going to be a lot of people who look godly but lack the Spirit’s power, and we should completely avoid those people. These seemingly godly people wind their way (like a snake) into our homes and capture weak-willed, undiscerning women who are burdened down with sins and promiscuous thinking. Furthermore, these women become easy prey because they are attracted to things that sound religious and culturally engaging but never get to know the God of the Bible and His truth.

One commentator wrote, “Such women are easily flattered; they are charmed by the graceful manners of religious instructors; they lend a willing ear to anything that has the appearance of religion, and their hearts are open to anything that promises to advance the welfare of the world” (Barnes). More so than the average man, a woman will buy and read self-help books, attend Bible studies, travel to women’s retreats and ladies’ conferences, check out and read novels from the library, attend Sunday school, watch home improvement shows, see a counselor, and listen to tele-evangelists, audio books, workshops, and family radio shows. The current number one market for Christian books is ladies’ Bible study books. When one studies the top 100 books distributed to Christian retailers, he will find the majority of the books are for women. Why?  Because women buy and read books.  Many secular publishers want in on the lucrative Christian book profits and have started imprints to publish and market Christian material to their audiences. In essence, we have secular editors reading and approving “Christian” books and entertainment with no regard to doctrinal accuracy or ministerial integrity. If it has potential to sell, they will publish it; and the first market group they target for fiction and non-fiction books is women.

We may be quick to note the problems in a television show, but all too often we sit down to read a Christian novel and lack the discernment to notice heretical teaching or practices. Are we evaluating relationships in the plots? (For instance, many of today’s popular Christian novels will have a believer date a non-believer hoping and praying for his salvation; yet this is backwards and dangerous according to 2 Corinthians 6.) Are we evaluating the theology of suffering, the theology of forgiveness, or the theology of eternal security as we read? (Some Christian authors are teaching through their plot line that one can lose his salvation if he is not doing good works to stay in God’s good graces.) Another popular kind of novel we must be careful about absorbing is the biblical fiction genre. Some of these books are helpful from the historical standpoint but hurtful from a biblical standpoint because they dangerously add to the Scriptures. It takes a careful, attentive author to narrate a Bible character accurately.

I am burdened that women in our churches are “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” We are hungry for knowledge, for learning, for better resources, for any help we can get; but from whom are we getting fed? In our desire to improve so we can better serve our families, are we falling prey to seemingly godly material and wisdom only to find no power in its substance? I have no doubt that women desire to grow for all of the right reasons. I have no doubt that women want to know God more. I know I want to grow and know God more; but am I reading, studying, listening, and absorbing God’s Truth or man’s conclusions? Every book I pick up, I have to be ready to evaluate its content, its entertainment value, and its teachings in light of God’s Word.

2 Timothy 3 does not end with that scary scenario. Paul reminded his readers to remember what they have learned from the Scriptures and then declared the benefits of God’s inspired Word in our lives: “That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” And so I say, “That could be me, too!” I pray we are learning, ever learning the knowledge of God and His Truth.