If you read yesterday's post you will have watched the TV advert for the AA.
Did you notice that all the people who broke down in the advert were women? Obviously if you break down and are a woman you need the help of the AA man. Presumably if you are a man you are more than capable of sorting out the problem for yourself.
On Sunday we looked at the story of Deborah from Judges 4. Deborah was a woman who was leading the people of Israel.
There are times when we come across stories in the Bible that should challenge our stereotypes and prejudices. They should make us think.
In our E100 Bible readings this week we also read the story of Ruth - a foreign woman, who has lost her husband, who displays the characteristics of a true disciple and who finds herself the great grandmother of king David and a distant, but direct relative of Jesus.
A couple of weeks ago we read about Rahab, a foreign woman, who was a prostitute. But a woman who displayed great courage and faith and who is mentioned in the New Testament in Hebrews 11 - listed amongst those who demonstrated great faith.
Sometimes we have a picture in our heads of the kind of people God uses. Usually these pictures are the result of our life experience. Some people may be a part of a church where only certain kinds of people get all the key roles - maybe, for example, professional men. This can result in a number of thought patterns.
Those who are professional men (in this example) then either consciously or unconsciously overlook others in the church because they don't fit.
But also those who aren't professional men assume that God doesn't want to use them and therefore find themselves on the fringe of the church rather than involved at it's heart.
Hopefully stories like Rahab, Deborah and Ruth should alert us to the fact that God can use anyone and wants to use anyone. The key is not our background but our willingness to be obedient to God. Are there people you have overlooked because of unconscious thinking? Is God asking you to do something but you've always resisted because you see yourself as the wrong kind of person?
