Playing the harlot - Part 1

I became a Christian as a young girl. It was easy for me to get my mind around why Jesus had to die for my sins. I recognized early that I was a sinner because I was always getting into trouble! I had godly parents, loved going to church and hearing the stories from the Bible. I understood and accepted that the Word of God was the supreme and final authority for my faith and life. I was taught the principles of God, but I did not have a deep and intimate relationship with the God of the Word because I didn't have a deep intimate relationship with the Word of God.

I had been taught that God was trustworthy, but I had not experienced His trustworthiness in my own life in a way that I knew God had come through for ME. I had not experienced God's faithfulness to ME in a way that impacted my life and deepened my faith in and intimacy with God. I knew God was everywhere, but I had never experienced His presence in my life in a way that brought deep comfort or satisfaction. You see, because I had not developed a personal and intimate relationship with God's Word, I did not know how to dig out truth for myself or how to properly apply truth to my situations and life. I was totally dependent on others to teach me, guide me, and help me. Now how frightening is that?

I was a teenager during the 60's (birth control pill, no more prayer in schools, the Beatles, Vietnam War, Civil rights, mini skirt, N.O.W., Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy assassinated, Woodstock & Hippies, moon landing). I find it very interesting that much of the way we think, act, do business and legislate TODAY is as a result of the thinking, beliefs, and decisions made during the 60's and 70's. I entered womanhood during the 70's when every orthodoxy about what it meant to be a woman was being challenged. Some of the messages I heard: "I am woman hear me roar; women don't need men; women have control of their own lives and bodies,;behind every successful woman is herself;Twiggy thin is in; I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan and never, never, never let him forget he's a man - 'cause I'm a WOMAN; if it feels good-do it." The 70's is known as the ME decade. And so during the 70's is when life became all about ME and what I wanted. At the same time all of this was going on in the WORLD, the church wavered in holding up the Word of God as the final authority of faith and life. I am NOT making excuses for myself. I'm just pointing out that this was a time when truth stumbled (so to speak; Is. 58:14) in the streets of my own life and in society in general.

Here I am, a young Christian woman who had no idea how to glean truth for myself. I knew the the principles of God, but I had limited personal experience with the God of the Word. The truths I shared with you a couple of days ago about the world? Then, I was clueless the Word of God said that. Okay, so I'm entering into womanhood at a time when our culture was being turned upside down. Can you guess who was being totally shaped by the culture?

And so I began playing the harlot. Will I tell all?

What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It’s written in Scripture, He exposes the chicanery of the chic. 1 Corinthians 3:19(b) The Message