"A Pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin (Hunter, 2009)

Mrs. Sommers, having come into possession of an unexpected windfall, chooses to temporarily escape from the dreary responsibilities of a rather common, penny-pinching existence to enjoy some of the finer things in life for a fleeting moment of lightness, free from the usual shackles of conscientiousness expected of a wife and mother. We are given no reason to believe that Mrs. Sommers had ever previously neglected the necessities of her family in order to selfishly enjoy such a fleeting pleasure as any woman would be entitled to by virtue of her gender. I see her purchase of the silk stockings and subsequent indulgences as inevitable temptations given the sudden circumstances of unexpected cash in lieu of the regular obligations being as satisfied as they ever were. This momentous event of hedonism could hardly tip the scales of justice when weighed against a lifetime of abstention, temperance, and moderation for the sake of honoring the unwritten contract to satisfy matrimonial obligation and motherly pride. Hence, the theme of escapism herein is universal. We often consider subservience as a key issue addressed by the women’s movement and feminism. However, in “A Pair of Silk Stockings,” the issue of economics is brought into focus with both gender and class taking center stage. I do sympathize with Mrs. Sommers.

This short story makes clear the fact that to be a wife and mother one has to be an excellent bookkeeper and administrator in order to meet the ever-changing and abundant needs of her family. I would imagine that rare was the occasion when time, opportunity, and disposable income would be available to any one of the lower or working class, whether they be male or female, in order to enjoy such a mildly opulent day as Mrs. Sommers had on the day described in this story. She was a victim of circumstances and to call her selfish is to ignore the greater contexts of class, gender, precedence, and economics indicated by the author. I am convinced that Mrs. Sommers betrayed neither Christian ethics nor her family by her actions. No amount of Scripture considered in context could dissuade my conclusion that this woman had consistently practiced self-sacrifice for her family and also suffered unfathomable indignities as a "have not" in American society up until that day.

There is also no reason to believe that she will not return to her selfless and dutiful life as thrifty wife and mother at the story's end. From the standpoint of developments and movements in American society and how they are reflected in the Literature written throughout our history, taking into consideration the setting of this tale, I am trying to have an open mind to the complexities of Mrs. Sommers’ dilemma and not take the easy route of pointing my finger at an act of sin. The point I am trying to make is that there is more to this story than that. Mrs. Sommers usually shopped for her family’s needs at the expense of her own. She usually never treated herself to anything nice, not even an occasional luncheon or the theater. She would usually fight tooth and nail to secure the necessities of life at a bargain for her family’s sake. This story does not paint her as a terrible sinner, but rather as a woman usually inclined towards sainthood.

This story is about a very unusual day in the life of an extraordinarily virtuous woman who, having otherwise sacrificed life and limb for her family for years, had enough self respect and self esteem left to take advantage of a fleeting fortuitous circumstance and temporarily break out of the box of her usually studious and exemplary way of life. Her thriftiness had perhaps saved her family fifteen dollars a thousand times over throughout the years of her marriage. I am not so quick as others to cast a stone at her for one single, documented, isolated incident of non-puritan action in the 1890s when women were beginning to be thought of as more than chattel in a male-dominated society. Consider that Mrs. Sommers had likely been ordered by her husband occasionally to bring home a thirty dollar box of cigars or some other frivolity for him to enjoy with his buddies. I am moved, not to condemn, but to defend the honor of this heroine.


© 2009 Brian L Hunter 

www.anointedwritenow.com

#WritingHelps

Marriage? Really?

“It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.” (Proverbs 21:9)

As my sister in the Body of Christ, though the Word of God should motivate you to press for the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus, “if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you (Romans 8:9),” I make demands upon neither your level of maturity (Hebrews 5:15) nor your love quotient (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). However, when you say you want to be a bride, then the Word of God judges your worthiness to be so. Do you qualify?

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1) Period. There is no condemnation to them which have been abused sexually as children, stalked, raped, maimed, disfigured,  addicted to drugs,  prostituted, or oppressed in any way, shape, or form. Hallelujah! You are, most assuredly according to 2 Corinthians 5:17, a new creation in Christ. Praise our Most Merciful Father who art in Heaven. [I capitalize Heaven because, since God resides there and He is the preeminent Creator of all things (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16), Heaven is, in my heart, mind, and soul, a “proper” noun.] Hallelujah!

Now, we know that sanctification is a process through which we must (Imperative - no “other” way) press toward the mark (Philippians 3:11-21) diligently, with great zeal and fervor (the fervent heat mentioned in 2 Peter 3:10) as opposed to a luke-warm temperature (Revelation 3:15-16). If we are not actively killing sin, sin is actively killing us. We can have multiple doctorate degrees in psychology, theology, Christian counseling, law, or medicine and be light years away from deliverance from the pain left behind as a residue from our past experiences.

Therefore, though we can dress you in Versace and parade you down the runway of life looking quite fabulous and you, through practice and rehearsal, have perfected the mechanics of praise, worship, and even, to a degree, ministry, your pain is showing and your attitudes, lack of patience, inability to trust, and rebellious self-reliance, greatly hinder and short-circuit your chances of experiencing the abundant life paid for by Christ upon the Cross. How then, are you qualified to be a help meet for any man of God? How then, shall you have peace in your home? How then, shall peace, like a river, attend your way? How, then, shall you be able to cease being a brawling woman in a wide house?

Please, learn. Please accept the fact that you do not have all the answers. Please let go of the rebellious notion that you are able to experience deliverance without the proper instruction and wise counsel. As James Brown so eloquently sang, “Please, please, please.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKNCySAvY5Y Imagine that God, rather than James Brown, is singing this song to you, Beloved of God. Also, I cannot recommend enough that you read and follow the “steps” outlined in the Books of Pastor Larry Low; first of all http://www.amazon.com/Eight-Steps-Inner-Peace-Low/dp/1466365706 then http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Christianity-L-F-Low/dp/1589824830 and finally http://www.amazon.com/Your-Pain-Showing-Attitudes/dp/1452857024 Please, please, please do this “work” before spending even one more minute considering marriage. Be sober, be vigilant, and be ready before you say “I do.” This will save not only you, but also any men with whom you become emotionally entangled prematurely, much time and energy that would be, could be, and should be invested rather more profitably in seeking first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Beware the flesh. The flesh should be disciplined to wait upon the Lord to renew strength (Isaiah 40:31) before entertaining the lusts thereof (1 John 2:16).

I don’t expect many to say amen regarding this. And, please, understand that I am just talking about what I am talking about and not directing this toward any individual or group. If the Word of God convicts and the shoe fits, then “despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” (Proverbs 3:11-12) Hallelujah! Don’t shoot the messenger who loves you enough to risk hurting your delicate feelings. Trust God! Evict that foul spirit and his lies! "Crack that whip! Give the pass a slip. Now whip it - into shape. Get straight. Go forward. Move ahead. Try to detect it. It's not too late - to whip it - whip it good." (Devo, 1980)

Let us pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

© 2012 Brian L Hunter

Love

"Three things will last forever--faith, hope, and love--and the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

We are no less intelligent than unborn babes in the womb. We can sense hatred, discomfort, resentment, and ill will in our environment whether connected by blood or separated by several miles or continents. The spirit of Antichrist reveals itself when it reacts violently to the presence of God's Anointed One and His anointing in the earthen vessels which carry His treasure (2 Corinthians 4:7). This is why people can react violently to unsolicited messages of faith, hope, and love received in their Facebook inbox.

Sadly enough, the serpentine spirit seems most often to raise its ugly head within the community of those who profess to be disciples of Jesus Christ. God forbid. This is the epitome of deception and misrepresentation. More so-called Christians (In contrast to John 8:31-32) act unseemly and react violently to unsolicited messages of faith, hope, and love than any other group of people in and of the world. Muslims, Atheists, Buddhists, and even Satanists are often more civil than many who wear crosses and claim to be Christians.

Even Elmo's friends on Sesame Street realize that something is wrong with the picture of hypocritical inhumanity painted by the visible church throughout world history. Yet, the invisible church, the called out ones so conspicuous in Acts 17, disciples of Christ who fear the Lord and heed His Word, "Be holy, because I am holy (1 Peter 1:16)," are not ignorant of Satan's devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). No. Lest Lucifer outwit and deceive us into complacently believing that his bite is as awful as his bark, or, worse yet, that he does not exist, we do well to remember always that he was more crafty and subtle than any other beast of the field (Genesis 3:1) and that, being an angel who fell and introduced the very concept of disobedience to God's creation, he often appears now to be and to act as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Warning, Will Robinson! Do not drink that particular Kool-Aid!

George Benson once asked, "Are we really happy here in this masquerade?" Nay! What are our best intentions and whom have we chosen this day (Joshua 24:15)? The very concept of social media was birthed out of the knowledge that the practice of open communication and freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and by many state constitutions is a good thing for any society wherein the majority of people are honest about who they really are and from whence, in reality, they have come. Therefore, the apple of God's eye should speak, be, and live bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1) because, no matter how violently the big bad wolf of intimidation, hatred, and malevolence huffs, puffs, and threatens to blow the household of faith down, since we belong to God, dear children, we have already won a victory over the unfriendly people, because, the Spirit who lives in us is greater than the spirit who lives in the world (1 John 4:4). Hallelujah! Glory to God Almighty!

Sovereignty and omnipotence have wrought for the beloved children all the glorious favor and grace of the King of Glory (Psalm 24:8). When the blood of the Lamb of God was shed upon the Cross at Calvary for the remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22), the final score was posted and it was finished. Hallelujah! Therefore, boldly, as though believing that we have access to the throne of grace, let us proclaim the good fortune of God's truly efficacious, propitious, encouraging, prosperous, and most auspicious gift from the rooftops. Glory to God! Let us go and tell it on the mountain. Hallelujah!

Let us fix our thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. If we can think about phone bills, data plans, iPhones, boyfriends, girlfriends, cancer, Duck Dynasty, war, revenge, Kim Kardashian, sports, and politics, why don't we more often think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8)? In conclusion, regarding social media, just as many have learned that orange juice is not just for breakfast, some have realized that the Internet is not just for entertainment, secular business, and concupiscence anymore. What dominates the heart and mind controls the body. What is controlling us, church? Faith, hope, and love remain forever and the greatest of these is love. Therefore, let us think more diligently, carefully, zealously, and consistently about God's love (John 3:16, John 13:34-35, John 14:12-17, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 1 John 4:8) and not be slothful in making Him known by any means available in Jesus' holy and most publishable name. Amen and amen. 

© 2013 Brian L Hunter