Decent Christian Woman

Apparently, a decent Christian woman has the ability to hold her tongue. No, this was not recently illustrated to me by a pastoral sermon, my scripture reading or any spiritual retreat, book, or even another Christian sharing truth with me.

No, this revelation was made through television. Yes, television. If God can use the donkey to talk to Balaam, then He can use whatever means necessary to communicate truth to his servant.

So Friday night, I made popcorn for the kiddos and we settled in to watch that old classic, The Wizard of Oz. This being my first time seeing it since….well, probably childhood, I was amazed by my adult perspective on the movie. You remember that woman who came to get Dorothy’s dog? Well, here are Auntie Em’s words for her, “I’ve waited thirty years to tell you what I think of you, Elmira Gultch! And I still can’t tell you because I am a decent Christian woman.” She then storms out of the room. My popcorn about fell out of my mouth. An actual reference to Christianity in pop culture? An acknowledgement that a relationship with God affects your behavior? An actual on screen manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit, self-control? I was stunned.

Less than forty-eight hours later, I am listening to the T.V. while trying to fall asleep. The husband is awake and watching an old Denzel Washington movie called Johnny Q. Public, where a father takes hostages because his insurance company will not pay for his son’s heart transplant. The negotiators want to use the wife to talk him down, but when she sees the insurance woman, she states, “I will not be used, and I will not talk to that woman,” Then she turns to her, “I would tell you what I think of you but I am a decent Christian woman.” End of conversation. I was flabbergasted. Another bit of self control because of a relationship with Christ! This was, at least, what, forty years after the Wizard of Oz?

I sat up in bed, “That’s just what Auntie Em said on Friday!” I exclaimed. The half-sleeping husband raised an eyebrow in my general direction; he had not been home for movie night and was not in the loop. “That bit there, about the decent Christian woman! It’s straight from the Wizard of Oz!”

Having been married for a long time and having grown used to these strange outbursts, he calmly asked, “Should I rewind it for you?”

“No, no,” I responded, “I am going to sleep now.”

But as I lay back down, I thought of television’s portrayal of these two “decent Christian women” and their ability to hold their tongue. I wondered if one writer had borrowed the line from the other. I wondered if today’s Christian woman is too quick to complain, too quick to speak, too quick to denigrate others. I thought, am I holding my tongue as I should be? Am I a decent Christian woman? Lord, let me be self controlled in all areas, not in myself, but because of my relationship with You.