A Charitable Woman

To be a charitable woman you must not seek your own will, and you must not behave yourself unseemly. These are the two main points we will be discussing in this study.

AN OPENING THOUGHT

II Peter 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Charity comes from within you. We learned in the last study how that a wise woman buildeth her house (Proverbs 14:1) and that our bodies are a house (II Corinthians 5:1). Yet it is not what we put into our bodies that matters as much as what comes out from our bodies.

Matthew 15:16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

Therefore, what comes out of our bodies is what would either build up or pluck down our house. As biblical women of God, we need to be a woman in which charity abounds within. That is what this study is aimed to help us do!

CHARITY PERSONIFIED AS A WOMAN

I Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Just like wisdom is personified as a woman (Proverbs 9:1), so is charity liken unto a woman. We have a great example set before us, sisters! It just hit me while meditating on this study that it all points to the church, the bride of Christ. That is the only "her" that Jesus is really concerned about, isn't it!? And so that isn't just the female saints, but all saints!

II Corinthians 11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

SEEKETH NOT HER OWN WILL

Charity does not seek her own. Her own what? Jesus sets a good example for us in Matthew chapter 26.

Matthew 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

Jesus did not seek his own will. Charity does not seek her own will either. This is especially important for women of God because we have this on a three-fold.

Seek God's will

Seek Your Husband's will

Seek the will of the saints

Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

So, to just keep it simple, one way to be a charitable woman is to not seek your own will, but seek the will of others.

DOTH NOT BEHAVE ITSELF UNSEEMLY

Let's define "unseemly" in scripture. The ONLY other mention of that exact word is in Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

In this verse alone we can draw two conclusions about "unseemly" from the context.

1. it is unnatural "leaving the natural use"
2. it is an error "recompense of their error"

So we now know and understand that charity doth not behave its self unnaturally. This is simple enough. But if you would like an even easier way to remember. Think about snow in the summer.

Proverbs 26:1 AS snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.

THE OPPOSITE OF "UNSEEMLY" IS "BECOMING"

We see the opposite of unseemly in Ephesians 5.

Ephesians 5:1 BE ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

There are some connections here to charity.

1. "be... followers of God" cp. I Corinthians 14:1 "Follow after charity"
2. as Christ gave himself (not seeking his own will)

But the main point here is looking at that word "becometh". Even the lost world knows how a Christian should behave. They know by their conscience what becometh a Bible believer. And what things are listed there are the unseemly and unnatural ways that someone with the Spirit of God would behave. A charitable woman is definitely not a fornicator, she is not involved with any uncleanness, or covetousness. Those things are unseemly for a woman professing godliness. But what we can focus on instead is GIVING THANKS!

EXHORTATION AND VIDEO STUDY

In this post, we have learned two simple ways to be charitable.

1. Seek not your own will
2. Give thanks

There are more point I will get into in the study like 3. teach good things 4. do good works 5. think on pure things.

These things are becoming of saints. Let's not forget, we are ambassadors for Christ (II Cor 5:17-21)! That means us too, sisters!! The gospel is on the line.

Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

There is no time to be foolish women, behaving in unseemly ways before the heathen, causing the word of God to be blasphemed (Titus 2:3-5). Having charity abounding in you will fix a multitude of problems (remember II Pet 1:7-8 that we opened with).

May this video study help you even more as I get into even more details. God bless.