WEEK ONE / INTERIOR DESIGN

discernment

Those who have met us know that we (Nancy and Mary) are almost as different as two friends can be. And those differences extend beyond our personalities and appearance into our interior decorating styles.

If we were to walk into a home décor store, Nancy would gravitate toward primary, winter colors—vibrant reds, blues, and greens. Mary would gravitate toward warm, bold, autumn tones—cinnamon, caramel, rust, chocolate, and teal. Nancy would like the floral patterns. Mary would like anything but. Nancy would be attracted to furniture that had light, clean, classic lines. Mary would be attracted to heavier, antique furniture with a funky modern twist. Nancy would be drawn toward serious and sophisticated accessories. Mary would be drawn toward quirky and artsy ones. One of the beautiful truths about women is that God created us all different.

The two of us have different styles. And your style is likely different from ours. There are so many to choose from: contemporary, country, Victorian, Federal, St. Louis, Nordic, modern, French provincial, retro, eclectic. What's more, these styles can be combined with an endless variety of patterns, colors, textures, and accessories. As a result, our homes don't look exactly the same. They're all different.

But although styles differ, there are certain elements that all good designs have in common. Designers choose and arrange flooring, wall treatments, lighting, window treatments, furniture, and accessories according to their color, texture, line, form, and space. These are the critical elements of every design.

This Bible study is about the critical design elements of womanhood. As we explained in the introduction, it's based on the passage in Titus chapter 2, where Paul outlines what the women in Titus' congregation needed to learn.

The first critical element of womanhood evident in the passage is discernment. A True Woman is characterized by right thinking ... She knows "what accords with sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1).

"Wait a minute!" you may object; "isn't discernment something guys need too?" Absolutely. In this chapter Paul gives instruction tailored to several different groups of people in the church. In verse 2, he lists some things older men need to learn. In verses 3 to 5, he lays out the curriculum for older and younger women. In verse 6, he talks about the curriculum for young men. All these groups need to learn "what accords with sound doctrine." Obviously, both sexes need discernment. Men and women, young and old—all need to know sound doctrine.

But here's the thing. Though there's overlap, Paul's lists in Titus 2 suggest there's a different emphasis needed for each gender, in terms of how they apply and live out sound doctrine. Some traits are especially important to what it means to be a man, and some are particularly important to what it means to be a woman.

Paul gives certain traits a gender-specific emphasis. But that doesn't imply that they're gender-exclusive. For example, Paul instructs women not be slanderers; he exhorts men to be sound in faith. Obviously, that doesn't mean that men don't need to learn to control their mouths, or that women don't ever wrestle with doubt or doctrinal error.

Women are instructed to be reverent, to love their spouses and children, to exercise self-control, to be pure and kind, to be devoted to their homes, and to submit to God-ordained authority. Yet men arguably need to learn these things too! Men are instructed to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Yet women need to learn these things too!

So why the sex-specific lists? Why not just lump everything together under one big category of "Important Stuff for Christians to Learn"?

The reason for the differing lists is that men and women are different. As we learned in True Woman 101, Paul's lists counteract our sex-specific sin tendencies and point us back to our divine design. So although "discernment" is important for both men and women, there are specific applications of "sound doctrine" that are particularly directed to and important for each gender to understand.

According to Paul, right thinking leads to right living. If what you think about womanhood isn't shaped by sound doctrine, chances are, you're not going to live in a way that pleases the Lord. Discernment, grounded in a clear understanding of God's Word, is the first critical element of true womanhood.

DAY 1

a healthy mind

"He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it."Titus 1:9

"But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine."Titus 2:1

"... in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned."Titus 2:7–8 NKJV

"... so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior."Titus 2:10

Not long ago, a nurse working at a hospital experienced a series of asthma attacks that flared up whenever she worked on the bone marrow transplant unit. Another nurse and nurse's aide also started to have chest tightness and wheezing, itchy eyes, and constant runny noses. All three complained to their supervisor about a dank, musty smell that seemed to emanate from the ward, but their complaints fell on deaf ears.

It wasn't until a six-year-old patient on the unit developed a fever and pneumonia and suddenly died, and an autopsy revealed that her lungs were filled with a fungus typically found in decaying organic matter, that management took the employees seriously. All of a sudden, their claim that the building was making them sick didn't sound so far-fetched.

Sure enough, an environmental investigation found that the air filters on the bone marrow transplant unit were clogged with a thick, greenish-black mold. The contaminants in the air were responsible for the employee sicknesses and the little girl's death. To deal with the problem, the hospital had to rip out its heating and air-conditioning system and renovate the entire bone marrow transplant unit.

Some experts suggest that the lack of ventilation in newer buildings, combined with increased use of mold-friendly building materials, allows for severe mold infestations. The contaminated air results in "sick buildings," where large numbers of employees begin to experience similar health symptoms.

The apostle Paul wanted to make sure that the churches on the island of Crete provided a spiritually healthy environment for fledgling new believers. He wanted to make sure they...