Matthew 13:45–46 “ . . . the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (ESV)
Proverbs 31:30–31 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. (ESV)

In an earlier post I wrote that women should not allow themselves to be rentals in the marketplace of life. Some might take objection to that as being a misogynistic attitude. Au contraire, I reply, this is a statement of the high value that scripture and scripture’s God holds for women.

When God created humanity (Adam being the Hebrew word for both humanity and man), he created us in two complementary sexes that we might join with him in the further creation of our race – this creation not just being the joining of egg and sperm in the womb, but in the nurturing and education of our children who are born of that union that they might take their place glorifying God and blessing their fellowman. This act of creation requires that the man and woman be joined in lifelong union as it takes a lifetime to create the next generation.

I am tempted to say that sexual pleasure has been divorced from its creative purpose uniquely in our time and place. I’m tempted, but I’d be wrong to say it. The pleasure of sex and the purpose of sex have been divorced for as long as humanity has divorced itself from the God who created us. This is not something new for our time. Granted, modern technology and social attitudes have made it easier to live in this divorced state, but people have created for themselves ways to avoid the children for which sex was purposed since forever. People have always been killing babies. We may have made it easier to prevent the pregnancy though the use of hormones or to kill the baby in the slaughterhouses of Planned Parenthood, but before the pill and legalized slaughter, newborns were left exposed to the elements or fed to the dogs in many different times and places.

Women bear the greatest burden and gain the greatest joy in being co-creators with God and their man. To put it simply, men, regardless the babblings of today’s “experts”, do not get pregnant. They do not endure the transformation of their bodies into the incubators of their offspring, and they do not carry fragments of that new life in their bodies for life. (Just a side note here, a mother doesn’t just carry that baby from conception to delivery some nine months later, but seriously, some cells from that new and unique human being are transferred into her system and remain there. That child is, quite literally, in her forever!)

Womanhood and its purpose of motherhood demand protection. And that brings me to the above text. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven was like a pearl of incomparable value which, when found, was so highly valued that the man went and sold everything he possessed to purchase it. Now the intent of the text is to let us know that heaven is worth everything we hold dear, but I’m going to give a secondary application. A wife is of incomparable value as well. She is of such great worth that a man will give everything for her. When a man takes a wife, he has exchanged all of his singleness for the lifelong bond of marriage.

I often say, No Wed, No Bed. A woman must value her womb as her most precious treasure to be discovered once and forever by the man she weds, and he must place equal value upon her and her gift of sharing the future with him. But, I am sorry to say, many women do not value themselves as God values them. They do not demand the man who desires their pleasures pay his entire life for entry. Instead, they are encouraged, enticed, and sometimes enslaved to put themselves on the rental market.

Rental women come in various styles and price ranges. There are the pornography rentals, both soft and hardcore. They are the women who put their wares on display as theatrical actresses and entertainers to draw the eyes of men and to enrich themselves from their lusts. I call these the rent-by-the-minute women. There’s no physical contact, just a visual representation of availability to those who will, both far and near, and the money pours in.

Then there are the rent-by-the-hour women. These are the prostitutes, and Tinder dates. No investment other than an open wallet for the men, and little emotional investment by the women along with the risk of disease, violence from their “date”, and a pregnancy to be terminated.

Finally, there are the rent-to-own women. These are those who live with their man without any long-term commitment on his part as he can walk away without so much as a fare-thee-well, and she can entertain the fantasy that she is the mistress of her destiny. She may feel empowered, though few do, but she is squandering the pearl of great price – herself.

I could wax long about young women who are enticed into slavery by wicked men. Not every prostitute or porn actress is there voluntarily. Many are ensnared by a man with some drugs and a plan to use them until the bloom is gone and they are cast aside to turn tricks in bathroom stalls and tents on the street. Society needs to do better for our young women, but I don’t see that happening as long as their enslavement is broadcast as freedom. To be free from the constraints of God’s law is to be enslaved by the evil that lurks within us all.

Be a for-sale woman. Not a for-rent woman, but a woman bound to a man who has given his all for you in the same way that we are the possession of Jesus Christ. Don’t rent yourself out. Demand full price – a man whose life is dedicated to join with you in the creation, education, and development of the next generation. Demand a man with whom you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. You are worth no less.