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HOSPITALITY

When I was a kid we were rambunxious.

We did lots of playing outside with friends - bike riding, basketball, football, etc.

The majority of the time this was happening our dads were at work and so the moms of the neighborhood were caring for this growing band of brothers.

Throughout the day they were making sure we were fed with sandwiches, hydrated on Sunny Delight, and getting plenty of time at the pool.

This tribe of women was amazing at always making sure food was plentyful, refrigerator was full, and laundry was ready to go - they were household executives.

Paul is encouraging something similar here in 1 Timothy 2:9.

1 TIMOTHY 2:9-10

Paul is giving instruction to Timothy on life, doctrine, and worship.

He has just instructed men to pray lifting up holy hands.

Now he invites the women to not be concerned with adorning themselves with outer beauty, but instead with good deeds.

"9 I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."

In Paul's imagination these good deeds range from:

  • Helping/Honoring her husband
  • Nurturing her kids
  • Managing the household
  • Multiplying/Extending/Amplifying the family's resources

It's an industrious thing to be a woman that displays good deeds.

This is a helpful reminder to women everywhere - and maybe especially where I live.

MULTIPLYING V. MISSPENDING

On my days off, I spend a lot of time in Newport Beach with my dog - reading, surfing, paddle boarding, hammocking, etc.

This also usually entails time at a coffee shop.

It doesn't take long to get a feel for the Newport community, and the broad stroke is this - the women of that area (and the men!) are more than not doing the opposite of what Paul has instructed. They tend to live by:

"No need to dress modestly. Adorn yourself with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, and expensive clothes. Hire someone else to execute 'good deeds.' That's what it means to be a queen."

The church ought to be the ones pushing back against that kind of culture.

Instead of misspending the money that comes in, they ought to become excellent at multiply, extending, and amplifying the family's resources through industrious care of what the husband brings in.

This is what it means to be adorned with good deeds as opposed to gold.