Time and again Emma and I see passionate Christian women who take to hating their passions. And they can find any number of pastel-coloured women's devotional books to bash these feelings back down.
From Emma's blog...
"A few weeks ago I was looking with a friend at some photos of her as a young girl, before she came to faith. She said she felt like a completely different person to the girl in the pictures. And there was so much to celebrate in that! But amongst the genuine joy for the Lord's work in her life, she commented that she felt some sadness too. As we talked, she explained that when she became a Christian she felt she needed to renounce, not just past behaviours, but the more exuberant parts of her personality. As a Christian, she felt that these passions were inappropriate. What’s interesting, is that they still come out – but in distorted ways. And this just reinforces her own feelings of worthlessness. Which in turn makes her want to kill those desires all the more."
What does self-control mean for Christians? For women? And for Christian women whose self-mastery is so strong they can deny themselves even food?!
Will-power ain't the solution! Will-power is the problem. And redoubled efforts in another direction won't solve it.
Something needs to get at those passions - to stop stuffing, slicing or starving them!
Read Emma's whole piece.
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