I guess you could say I’m a little “fired up” by a post that I read this morning. It was in response to the recent Josh Duggar situation. Disclaimer: I never watched the show, but was familiar with the premise. As the many infidelities of Josh have been brought out into the light and exposed, it is his wife who has now become the object of ridicule. It’s interesting to me that while the upheaval in their marriage and family is a result of worldly values being played out, it is the traditional values held by the Duggar family and his wife that are now under scrutiny.
In a recent viral post, written by a woman named Jessica Kirkland, she proclaimed the following, “We HAVE to teach our daughters that they are not beholden to men like this. That they don’t have to marry a man their father deems acceptable and they stay married to that man long, long after he proved himself UNACCEPTABLE,” She went on to say, “As for my girls, I’ll raise them to think they breathe fire.”
It is her last sentence that is being celebrated by women all over Facebook land, and it is the last sentence I take issue with. I read it over and over trying to figure out “What good does she think she is doing? How does it empower our daughters to fill their heads full of false confidence?” The last thing this world needs is more fire breathers.
Instead, I would argue, this world is desperately in need of women and men who are living their lives in such a way as to proclaim the true Word of God. We need more husbands to lead with faithful hearts and devotion. We need men who will guard the thresholds of their hearts and homes, warding off the sin that crouches in wait to destroy the peace and sanctity within.
We need women who are walking fearlessly with their hope in a living God, whose hearts are anchored in His word. We need women to courageously persevere in the work of homemaking and next generation-shaping, women who daily wage battle through prayer for the souls of their children, who protect the hearts of their husband and influence the current culture by the way they walk in patience and kindness.
Here’s what I’ll tell my daughter, “Draw near to God, learn His word, live by it, grow in it because He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6)
Some might say, “How can this be? Anna Duggar was being faithful and obedient. Where is her reward? Her life has been destroyed!” As a Christian, my hope is rooted in the knowledge that this world is not all there is. God’s Word tells us, that this world will pass away, and one day we will all come before the throne of God for an examination. On that day, in the presence of the Holy One, we will all be in the same humiliating predicament as Josh Duggar. Exposed! Completely. Exposed.
On that day, any false confidence we have instilled in our children will fail. But our daughters, our sons who have put all their faith in Jesus will have an advocate to plead their case against the merciless accuser, Satan. And no matter how weak and victimized they may seem to be here on earth, the faithful will be rewarded by the most Faithful One.
It is my prayer for our children that they will find all their purpose and confidence in the person of Jesus Christ and they will face the challenges of this world knowing that they belong to Him forever.
“The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!”
How Firm A Foundation – George Keith