Woman, Will You Allow the World to Define You?

What defines you as a woman? Are you defined by your beauty? Your intelligence? Your dress size? The makeup you put on? The way you speak or how you dress? How do society, family, friends, colleagues, church and even outsiders see you as a woman? Brace yourself, this article will make you ask yourself a lot of questions.

Your identity is about more than being a wife
You should be aware that as you go through life, your every move is being judged by someone somewhere. I once read an article that said: “Women get addressed by Miss. Ms. or Mrs. because society deems it important to know if she is single, married or widowed. Men, on the other hand, are only addressed as Mr. because their relationship status does not affect their social status.” No matter how civilised and modern the world might be, some people will still define women according to their marital status because, to them, a woman’s place in the world is their house. For them, women have to settle down with a man, have kids and take care of all domestic  activities in the home. To others, women are made to multitask. That is, be a wife, mother, daughter and worker. Some people refuse to accept that women can do anything they set their mind to because they still see women as fragile and weak.

But today, I am here to tell you that you shouldn’t let people define who you are as a woman. You should identify yourself as a daughter of The Most High God before all else. People mostly judge you by your outward appearance or your accomplishments, but God doesn’t. The Bible tells us so in 1 Samuel 16:7b that the Lord does not look at outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.  I used to be unbothered with people’s opinion about me. As long as I  knew in my heart that I was living right and fulfilling God’s expectations, I wasn’t worried at all. But about 2 years ago, I made a new year resolution I lived to regret. I remember telling my friend that I would try and do more of what people expected from me. I started to care about how people saw me and what they thought of me. I tried to please people and trust me, I was never happy.

Pleasing God or the world?
I soon realised that this resolution actually made me sin, as the bible says in Galatians 1:10 “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (ESV)  I was in the process of getting people to like me by being who they want me to be, all the while forgetting my Maker. This scripture clearly tells us that you can’t please God and man together. Therefore, trying to do both made me a sinner. I had to choose one. At that time, I came to the understanding that no matter how I tried, I couldn’t please people and God. Eventually, I chose to please God by obeying His laws and commands.

From my little experience I just want you to know that you should never try to please people. Instead, please God alone. Sometimes the pressure of family, friends or society might push you to do things you are not comfortable with. But today I want to tell you something: don’t allow the world to define you as a woman. Set your own goals and don’t limit yourself. Always trust in the timing of God because in His time He makes all things beautiful (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

God bless,
Jennifer Adjei
Guest Writer