The title of chapter 10 is "Reactions Define You." Its basic premise is based on Luke 6:45:
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In other words, what comes out when you're squeezed is really what is on the inside. Is your "juice" nice and sweet, or is it nasty and rotten? :-/
For me PERSONALLY, this chapter spoke volumes to my heart about my relationship with my children rather than my husband. Even when I'm "squeezed" I tend to not react badly toward my husband, but boy, with my children....*sigh* I have a long way to go.
So just how do we change these reactions and what is on the inside? Page 101:
Mrs. Pearl then goes back to the example of the wife of the CPA turned dairy farmer. When the husband is late to dinner, the wife could sit around and complain and think bitter thoughts. OR she could choose to think thoughts of gratefulness. She could think about how blessed she is to have a husband who desires to be at home with his family rather than at an accounting firm all day. Page 102:
All of the above is the meat of the chapter, and I found it to be right on the money. Of course I would go even further and say that this is how we are to be thinking IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, not just toward our husbands, but I guess that would stray from the point of the book a bit, wouldn't it? ;-)
At the end of the chapter Mrs. Pearl goes back into her "extrabiblical" mode, however. Page 103:
This sort of "test" reminds me of polls that are worded in such a way to arrive at particular results. These questions rely upon the assumption that Mrs. Pearl's way is THE Biblical way to be a submissive wife, and that is simply not the case.
But aside from the lame ending, I found this chapter to be convicting and (overall) very true to God's Word.
Lord, change my heart and my thoughts, so that when I am squeezed, only good comes out....
The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks.(Except of course Mrs. Pearl uses the KJV. ;-) )
Page 100:
Your reactions break you loose from your social inhibitions and manifest who you really are inside and what you really believe at your core level. We lose our carefully preserved "front" when we are pressed beyond calculated thinking. Then, who we really are is made manifest.
In other words, what comes out when you're squeezed is really what is on the inside. Is your "juice" nice and sweet, or is it nasty and rotten? :-/
For me PERSONALLY, this chapter spoke volumes to my heart about my relationship with my children rather than my husband. Even when I'm "squeezed" I tend to not react badly toward my husband, but boy, with my children....*sigh* I have a long way to go.
So just how do we change these reactions and what is on the inside? Page 101:
If you, as a wife, are going to change the way you have been speaking, it is not a matter of willpower; it is a matter of thought power. "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." (Prov. 23:7). You must bring "into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II Cor. 10:5). "for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts..." (Matt. 15:19). As Paul says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5). You will be "transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2), not by the strength of your will to hold your tongue. God tells you how to think about your role as wife and help meet. If you believe him, you will think differently.
Mrs. Pearl then goes back to the example of the wife of the CPA turned dairy farmer. When the husband is late to dinner, the wife could sit around and complain and think bitter thoughts. OR she could choose to think thoughts of gratefulness. She could think about how blessed she is to have a husband who desires to be at home with his family rather than at an accounting firm all day. Page 102:
You are what you think, and God tells you how to think: Think the truth. This is not the power of positive thinking; this is the power of the truth as God defines it. You are created to be your husband's helper, not his conscience, not his vocation director, and certainly not his critic.
All of the above is the meat of the chapter, and I found it to be right on the money. Of course I would go even further and say that this is how we are to be thinking IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, not just toward our husbands, but I guess that would stray from the point of the book a bit, wouldn't it? ;-)
At the end of the chapter Mrs. Pearl goes back into her "extrabiblical" mode, however. Page 103:
Is much of your life a reaction to real or perceived wrongs? Are you truly as wise as you think? Take the wisdom test below.
WISDOM TEST
1. Do you have enough fear of God to not question his Word?
2. Do you sometimes feel God is punishing you by telling you to obey your husband?
3. Would you give God excuses like, "My husband is mean," or, "I am a strong personality, and he is weak"?
4. How would you respond if God gave you directions on how to talk, when not to talk, or how to dress and even wear your hair?
5. Are you comfortable with dismissing the Bible's role for women by saying we live in a different culture?
6. When God says to reverence (meaning, stand in awe of) your husband, do you think that is demanding too much?
7. Will you say, "If God says it, or even suggests it, then that is what I will do"?
This sort of "test" reminds me of polls that are worded in such a way to arrive at particular results. These questions rely upon the assumption that Mrs. Pearl's way is THE Biblical way to be a submissive wife, and that is simply not the case.
But aside from the lame ending, I found this chapter to be convicting and (overall) very true to God's Word.
Lord, change my heart and my thoughts, so that when I am squeezed, only good comes out....
