Lady Friends,
I was busy writing an email, when I paused long enough to look up the word "berate" in the thesaurus to see if anything different would strike my fancy. And BOY DID I FIND GOLD. The entry is entirely interesting as it relates to interacting with men (see below).
Berate is a verb. An action word. It affects. Most of us have heard criticism poisons a man's motivation to lead. Maybe this will help you unpack it further.
Get this visual in your head and ask God to help you hide it in your bruised and battered heart: take a dagger and write the word "berate" on it and start stabbing. That's what we do to men. I know that fear causes us to hold on tight, but a woman's strength comes from her faith. Her worth in God alone. Her boldness, courage and confidence come from knowing who she was created to be. Those qualities are priceless to a man.
If you want to build a man up, pray for him and note the antonym at the end of the entry (there's only one).
Thesaurus entry for:
berate
verb
she berates him so often, he barely hears the words anymore: scold, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprove, admonish, chide, criticize, upbraid, take to task, read someone the riot act, haul over the coals; castigate; informal tell off, give someone a talking-to, give someone what for, dress down, give someone a dressing-down, give someone a tongue-lashing, rap over the knuckles, bawl out, come down on, tear into, blast; ream out, chew out, zing, take to the woodshed; dated call down, rate; rare reprehend. ANTONYMS praise.
Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
For her worth is far above jewels.
A wife of noble character is her husband's crown,
but she who brings shame is like cancer in his bones.
~Proverbs
