Jewells of Thought

What personality trait in people raises a red flag with you?

This may sound cliche, but having grown up in God-fearing family times two meant the Bible became very important. When learning about the American Pioneers and hearing that they learned how to read from the Bible seemed a bit antiquated. Considering I was a little girl from the 1980’s and learned in a modern School compared to learning at home with your parents like or in one-room school houses. Yet even the men who signed their signatures on the Declaration of Independence were mostly schooled by that number one book that continues to reach people through the centuries, the Bible.

The Bible teaches history, religion, and how to treat people including your parents, family, kids and spouse. There are some horrific stories in that book as well: what happens due to lawlessness, violence, simple jealousy and greed. The Bible is so much more than just a book to collect dust. The poetic section can enable you to comfort those in upsetting circumstances and those who are mourning. It is a book of saving grace, but only if you believe in the Christ it details and accepts him as your salvation.

Once you have accepted Christ the Holy Spirit fills you. Therefore allowing you to understand when you can feel affliction like a red flag with another person. Maybe as a historian I see each Bible story and translate it to the surrounding people I know when the obvious details hit me and I relate it to that specific passage of scripture and analyze the differences and contradictions. It’s like weaving the Bible into real life for my stories. My grandparents Freddy and Rosemary often read the story of Ruth. Grandma had two sisters and they were not married when Papaw came into her life. However, she had a hard life after her father died when she was not quite 9 yet and already taking care of her younger sisters for her Mom while she had to work for them.

The Bible, to me, has always been a blueprint for how to live. It gives countless examples of how to be and not to be. There’s even a section in Hebrews of the faithful men and women who sacrificed much for the good of God’s Kingdom.

The Bible and prayer were taken out of the schools during the last century. So were the Ten Commandments from the Court Houses and various displays. These Biblical tools are foundational to the Christian faith and cannot be forsaken. Generations have been raised because of this without these foundations to show them basic common sense and decency I will also submit.

One of my stories I rehash over and again is the Elkanah, Hannah and also Peninnah. Hannah was very much loved by her husband, but unable to produce children. So her mother-in-law forced her husband to marry a second wife who instantly produced a family she desperately wanted. Only after years of waiting and praying did she choose to pray specifically for a child that would be given back to God to be in her womb.

Still though she praised God through this distressing time. Dealing with a second wife could not have been easy for her, but she loved her husband. The faith she had and the love to make things work and to persevere no matter what red flags came against her is truly amazing. Most modern women wouldn’t have dealt with it at all.

Sometimes red flags are reasons for us to pray about how to deal with them the right way. Like I said the Bible has countless examples of how to deal with every type of personality. All it takes is reading the Bible.