Share another example of how something true can be enhanced until it’s a lie.
“Raising a hand or hands during song or prayer sometimes starts me focusing on others’ perspectives.”
We are so thoroughly indoctrinated in image building that I’m not sure we easily recognize the difference between excelling and self–selling.
Offer a few examples of how our culture teaches women to build an image.
“Reality shows, coverage of award shows, talk shows, magazines, movies, etc. all extol youth, beauty, charm, smarts, and feminine guile as the only way to catch and keep a man, to get and advance in a good career, and be popular with other good looking, smart women.”
In what ways have you noticed we women constantly sizing one another up?
“We compliment and generally talk a lot about clothes, weight, loss, youthful appearance, etc.”
List the seven offices summoned by King Nebuchadnezzar in verse 2.
● “satraps
● “prefects
● “governors
● “advisors
● “treasurers
● “judges
● “magistrates”
Write Babylon‘s motto as quoted in both verse 8 and verse 10:
“I am, and there is none besides me.”
Look up each of the following scriptures and describe how Christ’s teachings fly in the face of Babylon’s self-absorbed, ego-stroked, overindulgent mind-set.
Mark 10:42-45 – “To become great in the kingdom of heaven one must become a servant of others or even a slave.”
Luke 9:24-25 – “We must give up our lives to save them.”
What clue does 1 Peter 5:6 offer to our quest for significance?
“If we humble ourselves now, God will lift us up in due time.”
How would you apply 1 Peter 5:6 to your specific situation?
“I guess maybe humbly but firmly keep working on my parents and their beliefs.”
Dearest Rachel –
I tend to forget, while going through these notes of yours, that these studies were specifically geared toward women. Oh, I get that it’s part of a women’s Bible study, not unlike its spear counterpart I attend these days on Saturday mornings; but it’s not as if the topics – or even individual questions – are ones that only one gender has experience with.
But it’s true that women deal with other women in a way that guys can’t relate to in terms of their interactions with fellow men. I don’t think we guys tend to notice what the other fellow has (unless it’s something we don’t have and really want – well, that’s a universal approach, I suppose), and even if we did, we’d be more likely to good-naturedly tease him for it rather than compliment him with an underlying current of envy. We’re different from women that way – not that you need to be told that. We’re not nearly as concerned about ‘looking’ good, at least not physically speaking.
And it’s interesting to see you describing where and how the pop culture media describes how a woman can ‘succeed’ in life. This was back when you were watching (and recording) Oprah episodes on a regular basis (I hesitate to use the phrase ‘religiously,’ but if asked, I suspect you would abashedly agree with that assessment); these days, while the medium is more social, through the likes of TikTok, Instagram and Twitter, the message really hasn’t changed much (aside from the addition of those voices claiming – insisting, sometimes – that a man isn’t needed for a woman to be considered a ‘success’), which doesn’t bode well for societal improvement. When the message isn’t an uplifting one, switching messengers isn’t going to improve matters.
On the subject of being uplifting, I’ve heard more than a few messages recently about humbling oneself – particularly with an implication that it would be better for us to do so ourselves than let God do it for (or would that be “to”?) us. As with His means to give us patience if He sees that we need it, He will supply us with ample reason to be humble (or patient) – and if we don’t accept it willingly, it can be extraordinarily painful to endure. Of course, your efforts to work on your folks required considerable patience (as well as humility – you had to defer to them as the child in that relationship), especially since you never saw them come to definite fruition. For that alone, I expect you would have been greeted with a “well done, good and faithful servant,” even if you can’t find either of them there. Hopefully, that’s not the case, but as you couldn’t speak for them down here, so much less so can I.
In any event, that endeavor is the only thing we can do down here that has any impact once we get to where you are. The earth and everything on it will end someday – we’ve seen it, if only through fiction, but we know that it’s inevitable. Only the souls we help bring to eternity (and those that they bring in turn, and so on) will truly matter for that eternity. With that being said, what is there to be proud of?
Letters to Rachel 