Women, faith and politics
Psalm 11:3,“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Damaged foundations can seriously impede progress if not stop it completely.
Why study foundation?
It is what carries the house or a life. The strength of your foundation determines the weight you can carry on it. The strength of your substructure determines the size of your superstructure. Some people want to carry a big structure without a foundation. How far you go and how high you climb will be determined by the kind of foundation you lay.
A crooked foundation will lead to a crooked life. A sound foundation gives rise to a sound and happy life. A weak foundation will only produce a weak and miserable life.
Storms prove or test the strength of a foundation. A house without a solid foundation will collapse when a storm hits.
It determines how long your building will last. Many ministries, marriages and businesses don’t last long because they are built on sand.
It determines the strength of a house and therefore how long it will last. Luke 6:48,“He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.”Anything built on a weak foundation will not last. Therefore you are only as strong as your foundation.
The foundation of destiny fulfilment is the discovery of divine purpose or assignment. Foundations matter. Every single day your life is being built. You are a living entity and growing from the day you were born. We are built physically, mentally, socially
On June 29, 1995, ahead of the UN fourth Conference on Women in Beijing, China, Pope John Paul II wrote a special letter to women all over the world. He dwelt extensively on “the situation and problems of women in general, in an attempt to promote the cause of women in today’s world” and “the prospects of what it means to be a woman in our time” (No. 1).
He pointed out that many women throughout history, inspired by faith, have taken on initiatives of extraordinary social, political and cultural importance, especially in the service of nations and peoples.
He therefore looked forward to a new world order where “the full truth about women” and their impressive contributions to humanity would be acknowledged. It is already more than two decades after the Beijing Conference, but the pope’s ‘love letter’ still remains a valid guide for women emancipation in the circumstances of today’s world.
Thankfully, we are now in an era where a woman’s place can no longer be “in the kitchen, the living room and the other room.” Many women are getting the best of education today and, with the progress of civilizational enlightenment, anyone thinking today that women should simply confine themselves to the drudgery of male servitude must be looking at the snapshot of a bygone era of civilization. In the new permutation of twenty-first century politics, women are already ruling the world. With German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May and and spiritually. Everyone is built or building on a foundation; good or bad, strong or weak.
Bearing this in mind, let us see what a foundation is.
1. Foundation refers to roots. The root of anything determines a lot about that thing.
2. Foundations refer to your spiritual background: the altar you are connected to; 3. The spirits behind your life. 4. It could also mean the fundamental principles upon which a life or organization is built.Jesus talks about two kinds of buildings: one built on the rock and another on sand. 5. It also means the beginning of a thing. Other Things You Need To Know About Foundations 1. Foundations are hidden. 2. Can be cursed. Joshua 6:26,“And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.” It is difficult to build on a cursed foundation.
3. Foundations can be rebuilt. Difficult as it may sound, foundations can be rebuilt.
4. Jesus Christ is our eternal foundation. Isaiah 28:16, “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”Christ is this foundation referred to in this scripture. 1Corinthians 3:11, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
So if you want to address a problem, tackle it from the roots.
Everything in your foundation that has held you back breaks right now, in the name of Jesus! hopefully Hillary Clinton as President of the United States, the world can no longer remain the same. It is now a new world of women power!
Sadly, in some religions and cultures, women still experience a lot of obstacles in their desire to participate fully in the life of society. During the time of Jesus Christ, the surrounding Greco-Roman culture was highly unfavourable to women. Classical Greek and Roman philosophical and religious literatures at the time spoke about women in very demeaning, degrading and humiliating terms. In the Roman family, slaves and wives were seen in almost the same light because they were viewed as outsiders. The Roman world was also rampant with divorce. Women could not take any legal punitive action against an unfaithful husband, but a husband could take legal action against his wife. Women were not allowed to testify in a court of law. They were looked upon as people of inferior status without rights and without dignity.
In Judaism, women were categorized in the repeated rabbinical formula, “women, slaves and minors,” demonstrating that a woman was under the authority of a man and had limited participation in both religious and social activity. To show how much ancient culture denigrated women, every Jewish man was required to recite three benedictions at the beginning of the day: “Blessed be God that he has not created me a pagan; blessed be God that he has not created me a woman; blessed be God that he has not created me an ignorant man.” These deplorable cultural and religious attitudes towards women contributed a lot to the general negative perception about women. Anything built on sin will not stand: business, marriage, ministry, etc. Anything built on lies will not stand. Adam believed a lie and his whole world came crashing down. If you are not born again your life is built on sin and it will collapse.
3. Wrong Behaviour. If you believe the wrong things you will do the wrong things. Ignoring the principles in the Word of God. Matthew 7:2627,“And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: [27] And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
4 Ignorance. God’s people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). If you don’t know, you will make mistakes and some mistakes can lead to tragic endings. You just have to learn what you need to know if you want to avoid tragedy.
Demonic encounters create evil foundations that predispose a person to satanic oppression and captivity. Examples are: parental curse, evil rivalry, evil dedication, demonic incisions, demonic sacrifice, evil laying-on of hands, fellowship with family idols, wrong exposure to sex, demonic initiations, exposure to evil diviners, inherited infirmity, destructive effect of polygamy, fellowship with local idols, unscriptural manners of conception, fellowship with demonic consultants, etc.
The good news is that faulty foundations can be rebuilt. We shall take a look at that next week.
Have a blessed week, in Jesus name! I release an earthquake to rock your foundation now and command prison doors that have held you captive to open now, in the name of Jesus!
Proverbs 10:25, (AMP) “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the [uncompromisingly] righteous have an everlasting foundation.” (BBE) “When the stormwind is past, the sinner is seen no longer, but the upright man is safe for ever.”
When all is said and done, you will be standing tall, in Jesus name!
We shall be looking at ways to rebuild faulty foundations in subsequent teachings. Faulty foundations Some factors or forces that can affect the outcome of a person’s life are: Your birth; your confessions; your name; your ancestral origin; your convictions; your conduct/character; what you worship; your company; your calling; your learning, preparation and training; your giving attitude.
1. Your birth. Those who come from a background of idol worship have a very faulty foundation. Demonic worship is an abomination that attracts curses. When God is rejected bad endings are guaranteed. Any life built on curses will certainly result in frustration unless something is done about it.
2. Wrong belief. Demonic deception, lies. Any opinion contrary to the Word of God is a lie. Jesus said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17.The most damaging foundation is living on principles contrary to the word of God. Lies sold to Adam and Eve his wife got them and humanity into a very big mess. You may be born again but if your decisions are made based on ideas that are contrary to the word of God, you are building on a faulty foundation. Sin is believing and living satanic lies against the word of God. feel that they are individual persons of infinite value and self worth, because each one of us is created in the image and likeness of God. They need to know that they are competent and that they can do something to make a difference in the life of society. A world where women have been and continue to be valued more for their physical appearance than for their skills, their professionalism, their intellectual abilities, and their deep sensitivity cannot be a model of an egalitarian world.
Christians of today need to rise up and act upon the message of Jesus in regard to how we treat women. We ought to do all we can to see that women regain full respect for their dignity and their indispensable role in the life of society. Women who follow the injunctions and inspirations of their religiousteachingsintheiraspirationfor public life bring a particularly feminine contribution that only women can bring to the social and political space. Pope John Paul II spoke severally about this special quality of womanhood, the mysterious inscription of God in the life of every woman, which makes a woman unique in a way that only a woman can. He called it “the feminine genius.”
In the context of today, women must use the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to advocate for inclusive politics that recognizes the unique contributions that women can bring to the political space. The SDGs from goal 2 to goal 6 deal with issues that substantially affect women: hunger, good health and wellbeing, quality education, clean water and sanitation, and gender equality. We cannot lift millions of people out of poverty if women are not empowered and lifted up. An educated woman has higher chances of getting a job, raising a decent family, educating her children and helping them to live long. Education
Up till today, there are still some cultural and religious misogynistic perceptions and attitudes that act as obstacles to women’s participation in public life. In some places, men continue to hold on to their religious scriptures to deny women certain rights, under erroneous claims. At best, women are allowed to manage the home, prepare the meals, clean the house, wash the dirty clothes, give birth to children and serve their husbands. These attitudes reflect a religio-cultural worldview that believes that women should be seen and not heard.
Looking at Christianity through the lens of the long-held tradition of gender inequality in other cultures and religions, Jesus brought a revolution in his attitude to women. Up till today, Christianity still offers the best hope of women emancipation. When Pope John Paul II wrote his Apostolic Letter on the Dignity of Women, Mulieris Dignitatem in 1988, he was affirming this important truth. He reiterated this in his 1995 Letter to Women, where he said: “When it comes to setting women free from every kind of exploitation and domination, the Gospel contains an ever relevant message which goes back to the attitude of Jesus Christ himself. Transcending the established norms of his own culture, Jesus treated women with openness, respect, acceptance and tenderness. In this way, he honoured the dignity which women have always possessed according to God’s plan and in his love.”
Today’s Christians have a clear moral obligation to work to overcome every form of discrimination, exploitation and oppression of women. Women need to know and feel that they are wanted, accepted, cared for and loved for whom they are. They need to represents the best hope for women emancipation. Only an educated woman can make political demands and act in defence of her rights.
Women in politics must forge partnerships, build coalitions and form networks with NGOs, FBOs and CSOs with similar aims and objectives. Broadening and expanding the network base of women fellowship, and working together, instead of dissipating their energies and efforts, can become the magic wand for upward social mobility for women. Women should never allow themselves to be intimidated by what is often said to be “a man’s world.” Since it is a project of women helping women, mentoring is very crucial. Politics has to do with the mechanism of organising and governing society. The goal of politics is service of the common good and the promotion of peace and justice. It is open to all men and women inspired by the right ideals.
The antiquated idea that Christians should not seek engagement in the political realm because faith and politics do not mix is both erroneous and misleading. It is a fatal mistake for Christians to completely isolate themselves from the realm of politics. When the moral and righteous people do not take it upon themselves to vote or run for office, they are carelessly leaving the fate of future generations in the hands of wicked and immoral politicians. I therefore look forward to a new world where women begin to play crucial roles in fostering an inclusive political culture that puts women issues at the centre of public policy dialogue and decision-making. We need more godly women in politics yesterday, today and tomorrow.