Titus chapter 2 verses 1 and 3-5 clearly state that REAL women are TOUGH - Tender, Open-hearted, Ultimate Godlike Helpers (TOUGH). REAL women are TOUGH and are as rare as REAL men.
REAL women are:
- Loving,
- Virtuous, and
- Submissive.
The Word of God does not support how the world speaks to women. The world is ruled by Satan (John 14:30, 1 Peter 5:8), and he does not want women to hear the clarity of God's Word.
Below is a straightforward passage from God that outlines the best behavior for women. That means it is protection from the world's deception and Satan that hurts women!
…the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. - Titus 2:4-5
Loving
While God's design of a woman is about relating and relationships, she still needs wisdom from older women. In fact, in Titus 2, God asks older women to teach younger women how to love their husband and their children.
Additionally, it is interesting that her love is not the same unconditional, sacrificial love God wants from a husband to his wife (agapao)! It is a friend or companion type of love (philos).
Of course, God says unconditional love for others and even for our enemies is the best for us. In this passage, for God's perfect reason, He directs a wife to love her husband with a different love than He requires a husband to love his wife.
My speculation is each love fits their designs - unconditional love is a significant challenge for a man. And testosterone is built to take on challenges, especially to love his wife as Christ loves the church - provide, protect, and preserve her.
For a woman, her estrogen-progesterone naturally belongs and relates, so God asks her to live in her design and love through her belonging nature.
Virtuous (Discreet, Pure, Good)
Discreet - Love is essential, and so is discretion, purity, and goodness. REAL women are discreet, not gossipers. Discretion "curbs one's desires and impulses to be sound in conduct and speech."
Focus on correct thinking from God's Word, not impulsive thinking. Discretion does not slander or malign, manipulate or dominate. And, it serves others, not yourself. That behavior shows that a woman is TOUGH!
Pure - Purity is clean, chaste, modest, and immaculate - as opposed to polluted. A woman defiles her beauty with impure choices and a lack of discretion. This is where God wants a husband "purifying" his wife through the Word of God and helping her develop into what God wants her to be.
Good - Good is a pleasant, agreeable, kind, upright, and honorable attitude. It is what God said of Dorcas in Acts 9:36: "...full of good works and charitable deeds..."
REAL women are TOUGH when cheerful in spirit rather than sullen, bitter, quarrelsome, and fretting. Cheerfulness is real when you walk with the Holy Spirit and use His energy in every life circumstance. Of course, when kids are crying, the husband is not helping, and things are not going well, cheerfulness is only possible by God working through you.
Submissive
Finally, REAL women are TOUGH because they know the beauty and glory of submission. Yes, submission is not "politically correct" when talking about women. Submission is an entirely undesirable attribute by the world, but God values it immensely! That means a wise Christian also values it.
Click here for course 9 and watch some videos on this excellent, protective word.
While this passage in Titus speaks to women, the principle of submission also applies to men. If a man does not understand the principle and character of submission, it is foolish to talk about submission to a woman and definitely not his wife. If he does, he creates an opportunity for sin in his own life.
God asks a woman to be a homemaker and "subject to her husband." Culture does not support this as God speaks of it, but culture is not the standard - God is.
REAL women are TOUGH and know some critical information about submission - no one can make you submit. Submission is an inner voluntary act of the will. It glorifies God because submission to the husband is "as unto the Lord" (Ephesians 5:22).
Husbands that try to make their wives submit hurt their relationship with their wives and God. Submission is the wife's choice, not the husband's. The most outstanding example in God's Word about a godly wife is Proverbs 31. It is critical to note that all she does is for the benefit of the home, not a career or standard of living to which she or the family aspires.
So, REAL women are T.O.U.G.H. - they are Tender, Open-hearted, Ultimate Godlike Helpers.