Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (pictured on the 200 pesos bill) is a beacon of wisdom, of strength, of leadership, and of learning. Born in 1651, she spent the latter half of her life in a convent as a nun before passing away in her early forties. Becoming a nun and living in a convent for much of her life was based largely on her desire to study and to learn. That seems like a lighthearted reason to choose such a lifestyle, except that under Colonial Spanish rule, women were not permitted to pursue higher education - that privilege was solely for men.
Even as a young girl, Juana intently sought knowledge and wisdom outside of the cultural norms and traditions. At one point in her childhood, she prodded her mother to help her disguise as a boy in order to pursue higher learning (Armas, K., 2021). From essays, to poems, to songs – her work was a result of her intense desire to learn and to lead despite being mostly self-taught. However, after criticizing the work of a popular priest, she was disciplined and was required to repent (Armas, K., 2021). This capped her access to books and all her writings, for these tools of equity and freedom were removed from her library inside her convent. And though her final years were spent in quiet reflection without her books and writings, her impact could not be silenced. Her words and work ring true today as work done for the rights of women everywhere. Her legacy is a beacon of wisdom, of strength, of leadership, and of learning.
Juana once noted, “I don’t study to know more, but to ignore less” – what a mindset that exudes wisdom, strength, leadership, and learning! This reminds me of Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians in chapter 2 verses 3-4 when he warns them about false teachings and being led astray:
“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.”
It’s so important how powerful our thoughts are! What content we consume matters so much!
The sort of content we consume will impact our thoughts which will impact our beliefs. Paul warns the Corinthians of false teachers who will lead them astray. The false messenger’s words will impact the hearer’s thoughts which can result in impacting their beliefs, thus leading them astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Today, these false teachers come to us through shows, the news, social media, conversations, literature. And if the Christian mind is not filtering the consumed content with scripture, what then?
What sort of content do you consume, Christian, which may be leading your thoughts and beliefs astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ?
Written by Warren M. Grimm