i have read multiple books on feminism and women in the church and women in general. one book says women are completely equal to men in every way. one book says that women should fight for equality. one lady says “who needs men” while another praises men for their place in our lives.
i think so often the issues, whatever they may be, get muddled when we are the focus of them instead of all of us. men as a whole aren’t the problem the same way women aren’t the problem. that isn’t to say certain men or their behavior are the problem and vice versa for women. we take our experience and apply it blanketly to the civilization…probably missing something along the way.
my thoughts on men go something like this:
- men are called to lead. to provide. to protect. they were born with instincts to turn pillows into guns and fight for damsels in distress.
- men have strengths and qualities that women weren’t created with…and that is ok. they reflect God differently than women.
- men mess up just like women. men can treat women poorly. they can be demean instead of build up. they are human.
- men often bring a lighthearted, sillyness that women can be quick to neglect in effort to go deep and have serious conversation. they are a gift in an of themselves.
my thoughts on women go something like this:
- women are so quick to place a man, often times any man, in the place that only God should be. God alone is God.
- women are quick to blame men for their missteps, failures of success, the mess of culture as a whole. the truth is we are all to blame.
- women are beautiful. every. single. one of them. fat or skinny. tall or short. curly or straight hair. long toes, long nose, long arms. they are beautiful because they were created in God’s image. let that truth fill you up!
- while women don’t “need” men, men are a blessing.
- women were created different. different instincts. different qualities. we reflect different parts of God’s nature and it is breathtaking. the difference in no way means less than, simply different.
all in all, it such a beautiful reminder to me that God knew what He was doing when He created man AND woman. that He created us to glorify Him first and foremost. as men and women both walk in their identities as such, we get to contribute to the environment for both men and women to flourish. when women are who they are created to be, men thrive being men. as men are who they are created to be, women flourish in who they were called to be. we need each other.
we don’t need to knock each other down. we don’t need to fight for something more. God promises to do the fighting for us. we need to love. to encourage each other. to walk where we are called to walk. to speak what we are called to speak. and trust the Holy Spirit knows what He is doing.
