1 Timothy 2:8-10 8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. 9 I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
Despite what the societal elites are pushing these days as truth, men and women are different. For most of us the difference was one of the first things noted about us. “You have a healthy baby boy/girl!” There was very little confusion at that moment. And in case you haven’t noticed lately, for the vast majority of us, the difference is still obvious.
Paul noted these differences in our text. Men’s and women’s tendencies are different, much of which is by design, and some of which is as a result of the initial rebellion and its consequences. Men have a tendency toward anger and disputing. We punch it out with our friends and adversaries. Take a look at the wars around the world and down through history. It has primarily been the men at the frontlines.
That is why the corrective measure is prayer. Instead of taking the matter into our own hands, with the resulting violent behavior, we need to put the situation in the LORD’s hands. We can’t allow our hands to become the objects with which we do violence to someone else created in His image. We need to stop and pray.
But this is very hard to do when the emotions that underlay the anger are not recognized and processed. Anger is so often the easy emotion to express. It is the go-to emotion for most men, and increasingly for women as well.
But anger covers up things like sadness, jealousy, hurt, or fear. But these ‘softer’ emotions are much more difficult to express. When they do get expressed by men, it is often seen as weakness, and weakness is one thing men don’t do very well. We want to project strength.
So Paul picks the perfect alternative to anger and disputing. We pray and trust Someone much stronger than ourselves to handle the situation. We give up our right to bring justice on our timetable and allow the LORD to bring it on His timing.
Now women have the tendency to deal, not with anger per se, but with the work of making themselves physically attractive. Men can wear their clothes for years, but women so often are influenced by the fashion industry to change their looks. This gos back to the results of that first rebellion.
The consequences of that first rebellion for women was that their desire would be for their husbands, but that their husbands would rule over them. And the way that desire so often gets expressed is by making themselves even more attractive to their husbands. And in the days of Paul, that happened with hair, jewelry and clothing. Just like today.
But Paul says that good deeds are a more appropriate clothing for women than these outward trappings. That is because good deeds signal a relationship with God, something that is very desirable for a man who is also seeking the LORD through prayer. And when two people are drawing closer to the LORD, they can’t help but get closer to each other.
The women dressing modestly is about reflecting trust in the God who sees the heart and the actions. Christian women don’t have to use sex appeal to attract a godly man. Their advertising is their character that gets expressed in good deeds. Godliness is the most attractive characteristic a woman can have.
So men and women each have tendencies that run contrary to God’s will, and Paul gives some corrective advice about the change in behavior that is needed to bring each back into alignment with God’s will. The difference between the two track of advice is connected directly to the results of that first rebellion. Men need to pray more and women need to adorn themselves with good deeds.
The Arnold Journey 