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August 21, 2012
The Modern Christian Woman’s Greatest Sin? Disorganization, Suggests Survey
Barna survey suggests Christian women unlikely to admit struggling with lust or envy.
The Barna Group has released the second and third parts of their recent survey of a sample of more than 600 Christian women, defined as women "ages 18 or older who describe themselves as Christians and have attended a Christian church service within the past six months (excluding holiday services or special events)."
Nearly 8 in 10 surveyed reported feeling at least “pretty close” to God, and more than 7 in 10 said they are filled with “a lot” of joy and “not much” doubt.
Of the 603 participants, more than half say they evaluate their relationship with God on a daily basis, with an even larger majority (75 percent) citing the Bible as having “a lot” of influence in their lives. A “striking” 70 percent claimed the media has “little” influence over their decision making.
However, Barna Group President David Kinnaman questioned whether or not the self-assessments were all believable.
He posited that women may be reluctant to respond honestly, even in an anonymous survey, “because they might experience shame and guilt by giving a more honest response.”
Perhaps that is why few women in the sample report struggling with “traditional sins,” such as arrogance (16 percent), envy (13 percent) or lust (8 percent). For those surveyed, the most widely reported sins were “negative behaviors related to productivity,” included disorganization and inefficiency.
CT previously reported on the first part of the series, which was released last week.
Comments
Christian women are a trip. I totally believe they are afraid of honesty and resist self dialogue, let alone self assessment. We have the same divorce rate in the church as in the culture, yet women don't want to admit they deal with envy or lust. Productivity??? Really quite pitiful. But not at all surprising. Christian women have to live in a Christian community that values them in very restricted ways and in very restrictive roles. How can they (we) live with those restrictions without lying to ourselves? It's a skill from the cradle. We don't even realize it. But Christian men have benefited from it for generations. Women bloggers are criticized for being honest. Christian women writers are subject to the censorship of the "Christian Publishing" industry. Lying to Barna...that's child's play!
Posted By: cmtartist | August 22, 2012 12:33 PM
I can understand why disorganization scored so highly. As a Christian woman, I always used to feel so guilty about what I'm not doing. My bathroom faucets don't always shine to the glory of God. The meals I make do not always reflect a belief that my families' bodies are the temples of God - a lot of times we just eat whatever works. Then there is the constant time related guilt - what ever I'm doing, I feel guilty about what I'm not doing....not serving more in church, not serving the poor, not spending enough time with the kids, dogs, my job. I totally fail in the development of creative family traditions that will keep my children from rebelling. And I feel like I should somehow be better...much better. If I was just a bit more organized, I would be a better person. I would do it all and be it all and since I don't then I've failed, failed, failed. How can plain old lust even compare to that? A couple of years ago I just had the freeing though, "If I was going to be perfect, I would've surely done it by now" and I gave up all that freaking out. Now I enjoy my life, my God, my kids, my husband and my Hamburger Helper a lot more. I'm not doing more or less than I used to do - I'm just not freaking out about it....most of the time.
Posted By: Annette | August 22, 2012 8:35 PM
So now we have "new" sins like disorganization to worry about?? Which verse is that in again?? Actual, biblical sins are hard enough to steer clear of, much less these new, Americanized, business-minded "sins" we're being told about. If we carry this "disorganization" sin on to its logical conclusion, we're going to be forced into saying Jesus was a sinner as He seemed to be pretty disorganized according to the Gospels - at least in the classical definition of disorganized anyway. That is, if we're actually being honest with Scripture instead of conforming it to fit what we're wanting to say - or just ignoring it altogether when it doesn't. Have a look - Jesus didn't work according to some stern, rigid schedule, always made time for people even when it interfered with another "appointment, went places without arranging overnight accommodations beforehand, played a fishing "lottery" when it was time to pay taxes, and he even showed up , not hours, but DAYS late to a good friend's funeral. That's not organized!!
Having said that, can it become a sin to be disorganized? I'm sure it could, under certain circumstances. But there are also circumstances when "organization" could become a sin as well. When someone allows a schedule to become their god, they are sinning. There are people who "worship" and "bow down" to a schedule so rigidly that their appointment book or iPad scheduler is their God. Christians have to stop turning the church into a corporation and trying to run it like a business!! THAT'S a sin!! Often times women are made to feel guilty for not being able to get more done by the men around them or their mothers/mothers-in-law. So they assume they feel guilt because they've done something wrong - i.e. sinned. Yes, we have a conscience to help guide us, and often times that guilty feeling is, indeed, a result of sin. But not always!! Basically, guilt does NOT (always) equal sin. So just because you may be feeling guilty, don't equate that to being sinful. Perhaps others are sinning by placing those unrealistic expectations on you.
So, in a nutshell (a long, wordy nutshell), disorganization is NOT, in and of itself, a sin!!! It's obviously a struggle women are dealing with, but it isn't biblical sin. So maybe get down into the depths of your heart and soul and find the REAL sin you're struggling with instead of these surface-level issues.
Posted By: James | August 23, 2012 9:10 AM
James' answer is spot on. Agreeing with his comment.
Posted By: Mary Mary | August 23, 2012 9:20 AM
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