Below, is a response by Dr. Katie McCoy to the question "what are three issues facing women today?" at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Women's Tea at 3 from the Southern Baptist Convention (June 13, 2016). Dr. Katie McCoy is the Editor of BiblicalWoman.com, an online resource for women by Southwestern Seminary.
Growing up in the McCoy household I was known for being what I like to call “domestically challenged.” My attempts to be Martha Stewart often ended up more like the children’s story heroine, Amelia Bedelia! (Remember those books?) There was the time I folded and put away the dirty laundry. The time I unloaded and put away the dirty dishes. And then there was the first time I ran the dishwasher.
I couldn’t remember exactly what we used, so I looked under the sink and found a big green bottle of liquid dish soap.
Dish soap, dirty dishes, dishwasher…what could go wrong?!
So I poured in the soap, closed the lid, started the machine, and was feeling pretty good about myself. But then…moments later – with clouds billowing out of the cabinetry, my mom gasping in shock – I learned:
If you fill something up with a substance that it was never made for, you’re just going to make a huge mess.
When I think of the issues facing us as women today, so many of us are filling ourselves up with beliefs and values that we simply were never made for.
And the result is a huge mess!
These beliefs and values revolve around three elements, three questions that we all seem to be asking.
The first is the question of Identity: Who am I? The second question is about Purpose: Why am I here? And the third is about Worth: What is my Value?
Identity, Purpose, and Worth. We can’t turn on our TV’s, or scroll thru our feeds without seeing these very questions beings asked.Who am I? What am I doing here and does my life matter?
Each of these issues reflect the kind of God-sized, soul-level questions that were made to be answered in our Maker. But as long as we and the women in our world try to fill ourselves with things we were never made for, we’re just going to keep making a huge mess.
Each one of us has the opportunity to point another woman toward truth by engaging her in the questions she’s already asking.
At BiblicalWoman.com, that’s our mission. If you’re looking for a resource for women that engages in these questions, just start scrolling through the articles here. We hope this online ministry helps equip you to address issues of Identity, Purpose and Worth, both among the women you’re serving and within your own heart.
But you don’t need a big website to make a big impact. All you need is a solid foundation in God’s Word, a tender heart for needs of others, and the courage to point just one woman to the One she was made for!