God condemns the practice of sin. God hold the conduct of abusers in contempt and He tells us to avoid abusers. But God isn’t contemptuous towards bruised reeds – birds with broken wings. He is compassionate and protective, whilst calling us to discernment, greater maturity and righteousness in the future. God calls us to govern and temper our emotions with the soundness of mind, prudence and self-discipline that grows from a right and balanced understanding of scripture.
Men who abuse women tend to target women who are:
- weighed down with sins
- led astray by their desires/passions/feelings
- always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth
- ‘little women’ (the Greek is a single word which is the diminutive of women)
That’s what the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:6-7. This post focuses on the first three points above. I will address the fourth point (‘little women’) in a subsequent post because I can’t do it justice unless I devote a whole post to it.
Ps Liam Goligher says¹ that the Greek word translated ‘desires’ mean feelings – whether positive and negative. It doesn’t necessarily have an immoral connotation. For example, Jesus used it positively when he said “I have inwardly desired to eat this Passover lamb with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15). So in 2 Timothy 3:6, that word just indicates that these women are…
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My Only Comfort 