2 Timothy 3:6
“They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires.”
Sometimes, verses sound down right confusing! Other times, they sound so familiar it’s frightening!
This verse today, 2 Timothy 3:6, unfortunately reminds me of the plight of many women today. They grew up in troubled homes. They got married, thinking their husband was their knight in shining armor, who would rescue them from all the trouble of their childhood. Years down the road, some wake up, realizing the man they married is just like or possibly worse than their troubled home they ran from.
The women are vulnerable. They’re hurt and seeking healing, possibly in the wrong places. Whatever healing they find, seems to work, albeit, short lived. In time, they realize the disparity of their situation and their inability to fix it. Enter young man with smooth words, who knows how to make her laugh. She falls head over heels, in love, possibly, again. She finds herself once again, bound by an unhealthy relationship. She’s stuck in sin. She doesn’t know how to break free.
Men used to be expected to protect women and not take advantage of them. If a woman was considered an enabler or a co-dependent, it was her husband’s job to take care of her. Despite her enablement, the husband would have had self control. Despite her co-dependence, the husband would have seen her need for people and validation and helped provide for that need! Despite her imperfections, the husband should not use it as his excuse to sin, to abuse, to refuse, to neglect, to run.
This verse is such a far cry from Ephesians where Paul tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her (Ephesians 5).
My grandparents did not have a perfect relationship, but it seemed perfect to me. My grandma did everything for my grandpa, cooking, cleaning, going everywhere with him, hosting, etc etc. We never realized just how much of her life was lived for him until he died. She stopped largely, being social. She was a homebody at heart, but loved my grandpa so much, that she went everywhere with him. But he too, took excellent care of her. He bought a lake house and took her there often because “raising six kids was stressful,” he said. But he knew she could always relax at the lake. He took her out to eat multiple scheduled times a week, just so she wouldn’t have to cook, long before going out to eat was a thing. He took her to see her grandkids regularly, because she loved them so. He arranged trips to see her sister nearly weekly, though they lived well over an hour apart. They did this their whole lives. He took her on regular dates a couple times a week without the kids. He not only took good care of my grandma, but he took good care of his business staff. I’m told he sent all his office ladies on a trip to Chicago, just because. He was a man who loved the Lord and lived it. He still held my grandma’s hand when out walking until his death. And she still stood by his side until then too. Sure, they lived in a Leave it to Beaver age. But there were some good parts to that time that we’ve lost today. While there’s no need to go down the road of arguing which time was better and why. Today, we need to recognize that the verse in Timothy is happening. Some men are taking advantage of women. Therefore, we have all the more reason to preach the Word, reminding women who they are in Christ, bathing them in the Word like Ephesians 5 says. In this way, enslaved women will be set free.
Photo credit: samer daboul
