The New Eve Read Free Page B

seductive.
The New Eve Worldview
    I chose this title rather than “Biblical Worldview” for a reason. Certainly not to discount the Bible. The New Eve worldview is biblical , but it is also specific to women. Women who embrace this worldview actively shape their lives around the Bible's gender-specific applications. In doing so, they become women who are more than “Christian” in name only. They go beyond being mere churchgoers who claim faith but whose choices, values, and lifestyles more closely reflect the nonbiblical worldviews previously discussed.
    A New Eve takes God's Word seriously not just at church but in the everyday walk of life. She lets the Bible answer the big questions every woman needs to face. Questions like: What does it mean to be a woman? What should be my priorities as a woman? How do I balance my life? How do I avoid regrets? How do I please God? New Eves don't merely ask such questions. They find specific and practical answers and use them to color their choices, determine their life direction, and measure their progress. These answers become a fixed mind-set that builds for them a unique, fulfilling femininity void of many of the excesses and regrets that mark other worldviews.
    Of course, you may be asking, Can a significant and satisfying twenty-first-century womanhood really be defined fromScripture? One that can apply to all women and yet not be guilty of cookie-cutter sameness that presses everyone into a common mold? One that will stay fresh even as you grow older? One that can guide you to the best in life? The answer is yes.
    In the chapters that follow, you'll find five bold moves drawn from the Bible that help you, as a woman, define for yourself the best life possible. They are:
Live from the inside out.
Adopt a biblical definition of womanhood.
Embrace a big-picture perspective on life.
Live with the end in mind.
Use wisdom with a man.
    These moves are not hard to understand, but they require boldness and courageous faith to activate. More importantly, they unleash the best of this life. They have worked this way in many women's lives, and they will work in yours as well. We'll unpack the first of these bold moves in chapter 4. But first let's look at the major issues women are struggling with today—issues these bold moves are meant to resolve.

3
    What the Issues Are
    T o be good at counseling, you must have the ability to distinguish between issues and problems. That's a gift of insight most people don't possess. To them, issues and problems look and feel the same. They are not. In fact, they are as different as cause and effect. Problems are nothing more than “surface eruptions”—usually generated by a deeper, less apparent, unresolved issue.
    For instance, you may have trouble relating to a certain individual in your family or social group. You fight. You don't get along. You can't communicate. Those are very real and serious problems. But the real issue behind that struggle may actually be a secret jealousy they hold against you or the need you have (but won't admit) to control other people. Issues, you see, lie behind problems. I've seen people contend all their lives with one difficulty after another but never identify or address the issue actually fueling their problems.
    It's easy to have this blind spot. I know because I've fallen prey to it firsthand. I once brought in a highly regarded consultant to help me with a number of serious problems I was having in leading our church. For several hours I poured out to him my frustrations with staff, organization, time demands, directionalchallenges, and personal concerns. Honestly, I was really hurting. From time to time, he would ask probing questions to aid his understanding of my situation.
    Eventually, I finished venting my list of nagging problems. I was eager to hear what ideas he would offer to help untie me from these leadership knots. Pen in hand, I prepared to take notes.
    After a long pause he looked at me and