As Christians, we are familiar with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and the beatitudes He taught, but what are some beatitudes for women and how can we live them in our own lives as sisters, moms, and grandmother’s?
What is a Beatitude?
The values, or character qualities, in life that lead us to growth in our walk with the Lord are beatitudes. I like breaking the word down as “BE-attitude”, or BE an Attitude, BE a particular way.
Are there a certain number of beatitudes? No, not necessarily, but we can certainly address character qualities we’d like to better within ourselves and instill in those we are raising.
Beatitudes will help us be strong wives for our husbands, nurturing moms to our children, and provide wisdom that we can pass on to our grandchildren.
What are some beatitudes women of the Bible hold dear? There are 4 beatitudes that I feel are important in my life, that I believe we can all strive to be better at.
HUMILITY = YIELDING OF THE HEART
Simply, humility is yielding our heart to God.
In order to be humble, we must put our trust and dependence on God, and have faith in His leading us. We certainly aren’t born with humility, but instead it’s a God-given virtue of holy living.
Jesus provides the perfect example of humility, as He was obedient to God’s will and humbled Himself, leading to His death on the cross to save you and me.
Jan Silvious said, “To learn humility is to learn contentment in all circumstances. Humility is not in what we own or achieve, but in maintaining a teachable attitude, a willingness to bend to the will of the Father.”
- Matthew 23:12 – And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
- James 4:10 – Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
- 1 Peter 5:6 – Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
SENSITIVITY = A TENDER HEART
As with many things in the secular world we live in, sensitivity is often explained in the negative. The first definition that comes up when I Google the word is, “A person’s feelings which might be easily offended or hurt.”
However, the Bible takes a different approach. Sensitivity is looked at in the positive light of having a tender heart. There are plenty of verses in the Bible that talk about being tenderhearted.
- Matthew 5:4 - Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
- Ephesians 4:32 – And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
- 1 Peter 3:8 – Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous.”
As these verses show, sensitivity is an outward action. But it also needs to be inward, where we are responsive to our own personal sin.
- Acts 3:19 – Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
- Proverbs 28:13 – He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
- Joel 3:13 – So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.”
MEEKNESS = SELF-CONTROL
If asked what virtue is important to instill in our children as we raise them, meekness isn’t one that readily comes to mind. I grew up thinking a meek person was one who often got railroaded and run over. Becoming a born again Christian, and growing in my walk with God over the last 20 years, I have learned that meekness is absolutely not that.
Meekness from a Biblical perspective is actually about self-control. It’s the desire to set self aside and willingly follow the will of God. It is also applicable to how we interact with our spouse, children, and others in our life. Do we put others first and think of what we can do to serve those in our lives?
Meekness, today, makes me think of a quiet gentle spirit, one who loves others and is willing to set aside immediate needs so another's need can be seen, and to perhaps do something kind for someone else.
- James 3:13 – Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
- 1 Peter 3:4 - …rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
- 2 Peter 1:5-7 – But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
OBEDIENCE = STRENGTH
Obedience is often thought of in terms of children who should listen to their parents and follow the rules. Outside of a God-loving home, obedience is almost always a negative connotation. And Lord, if you tell your non-Christian friends or colleagues that you obey your husband, girl, that starts World War III in that conversation, doesn’t it?
As a Christian woman, I see obedience as an extension of being meek. It’s a desire to hear and do the will of God. This is a positive choice, not a negative suppression of my spirit that’ll eventually crush me, like the world wants you to believe.
Our obedience is to flow out of our love for God. Therefore, to obey our husband is also to flow out of our love for our husband. But what does that mean and look like for us as wives? Does it mean we are to follow a strict set of rules he imposes on us and we will be disciplined if we don’t follow his rules? No, not all. But the world would like you to think that!
If obedience flows out of love, then out of love flows a serving heart. It’s an inner defining of our love for the Lord, which will then help us follow His commandments and serve those who are in need. In terms of our husband, having an obedient heart towards him comes from our love for him, and our trust in him to care for us emotionally and physically.
If you truly look at it, obedience isn’t a one-way action. It’s circular. Applying the act of obedience to your faith in the Lord and to your husband yields the same back.
Obedience to our Lord reaps the care He provides when we are in need, prayers are answered when we least expect it, and He strengthens us when we are weak.
Obedience to our Godly husband yields a team effort with the difficulties in parenting so you aren’t doing it alone, provides the physical love in being held when you’ve had a difficult day, and shows an understanding heart when we just couldn’t get things done. This list is clearly not exhaustive.
Why do we keep our eyes on God, in times of hardship and prosperity? Why do we continue to work on our marriages and desire to be a good wife? Why do we continue parenting and not run away when kids act out and we’ve hit our breaking point?
Because we LOVE.
We love our Lord. We love our husband. We love our children. We are obedient to them.
- Ephesians 5:22-28 – Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or winkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who love his wife loves himself.
As this week ramps up and life gets busy, my focus is on sensitivity. I’m looking for ways to quiet myself in the midst of the stress, so that I can see a need in someone near me. What are you focusing on this week?
If you'd like to learn more about Mallory Bloom and how I incorporate Christian Biblical principles into the clothing I design and make, check out the Mallory Bloom About section.
