The relentless pursuit of joy and purpose: Dr. Renita J. Weems's newest book explores the important lessons in the Song of Solomon

Black Issues Book Review, March-April, 2004 by Kathryn V. Stanley

The writings of Dr. Renita J. Weems can always be counted upon to impart loving truths and "on-time" wisdom to let us see ourselves from a new perspective. Her latest book, What Matters Most: Ten Lessons in Living Passionately From the Song of Solomon (Warner Books/Walk Worthy Press; April 2004), proves no different. This time, Dr. Weems, a biblical scholar and prolific author of inspirational Christian books, including the highly successful Showing Mary: How Women Can Share Prayers, wisdom and the Blessings of God (Warner Books/Walk Worthy Press; May 2002), challenges women to think differently about passion.

"If I were to stand up in the pulpit on a Sunday morning and tell the congregation that I was going to preach about passion, everyone would be on the edge of their seats, because they would assume that the sermon would be about sex," says Dr. Weems, who is William and Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Endowed Professor of Humanities at Spelman College in Atlanta.

"It is particularly difficult for Christian women to think of passion outside the realm of sexuality."

While she touches on that aspect in her book, Dr. Weems views the issue as much broader. According to her, passion is the life energy inside each of us that helps create meaning and purpose for our lives.

The lessons that Weems conveys in What Matters Most come from the Song of Solomon. This Old Testament book of disputed origin and authorship is told in the form of love poems, many of them erotic in nature.

"'Song of Songs' stands out as the only biblical book in which a woman's voice predominates," says Dr. Weems. "Hers is the voice of a bold, gutsy, free-spirited woman who strikes out on her own journey to discover what's important to her mad to claim for herself what love, sex and romance mean to her sense of self. That is reason enough to make the book worth rereading and reclaiming for today's thinking woman of faith."

Dr. Weems uses the story of the anonymous woman, whom she describes as "headstrong and passionate," to relate the 10 lessons. She schools readers on everything from truth, balance and choices to sacrifice, sex mad love.

In a nutshell, Dr. Weems wants readers to ponder one question: What if I am the one that I've been waiting for all these years? This one question will no doubt generate much internal contemplation and is a ripe subject for collective discussion. In fact, the book is designed for group study and contains discussion questions at the end of each chapter.

What does Dr. Weems want women to be passionate about? Themselves. "We are taught to be passionate about our families and our churches, but not about ourselves. Women tend to think reserving some space in our lives for what matters most to us is being selfish. I want women to see themselves as the source of their own passion, which ought to infuse every aspect of a woman's life--socially, sexually, intellectually and physically," she urges.

"Too many of us are waiting around for someone or something outside of ourselves to ignite our passion," she continues. "We need to recognize that what we seek is already within us."

Dr. Weems, who is married and the mother of a daughter, is very passionate about her own life, "I laugh hard, I play hard, I pray hard, I work hard, I love and live life to the max because I am a passionate woman--intense, focused, creative, imaginative, witty. These are the ways that passion communicates itself."

A former Merrill Lynch stockbroker, she is on leave from the Vanderbilt University Divinity School while teaching introduction to the Old Testament at Spelman for the 2003-2004 academic year. She is a native of Atlanta, Georgia, and received a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College, as well as master's and doctorate's degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Dr. Weems encourages women to tap into that "something within," and she uses her online e-journal, www.somethingwithin.com, to reach women with her life-changing message.

Bookstores are replete with books that offer advice about getting more out of life. So what makes what Dr. Weems says any different from what Dr. Phil McGraw or Joyce Meyers are saying? "Their books weren't written with African American women in mind. And, those that are written for Christian women are often unconcerned about changing the status quo for women, but rather seek to have women cope with their circumstance," she retorts. Dr. Weems describes What Matters Most as "politically edgier" than her previous works, but like her previous works as feminist in its perspective--and unapologetically so.

"Our prayers and faith are not meant to make us accept the status quo," says Dr. Weems. "They should move us toward action ... I want women to understand that their passion must be ignited in ways that make them stand up and make their voices heard. We still live in a world where women are victims of violence and other forms of oppression by virtue of their gender. I want women's passions to spark the Rosa Parks mad Fannie Lou Hamer in them to stand up and change the world."