Woman
to Woman
My dream
doctor’s office will have comfortable chairs, soft music, compelling reading
material, calming and tasteful decorations, restful colored walls, and no
television. Wouldn’t that make waiting
more pleasant? What is the attraction of
bigger screens and higher volume? Why,
oh why, does a culture that embraces feminism have programming filled with
gossipy women of low intelligence? Does
this irony elude entertainment executives?
I really don’t care to hear about which
starlet is bedding what rapper while waiting to find out if my lab tests are
abnormal. Does it not occur to a physician’s
office staff that loud, obnoxious television might make those subjected to it
cranky? If they must overbook couldn’t
they at least give their victims access to the remote?
Waiting in
doctors’ offices can be comparable to waiting on hold for tech support from
Timbuktu and dealing with a mortgage company, yet it is only slightly better
than associating with a government agency of any kind. There seem to be quite a few things in this
life that we must do that bear a remarkable resemblance to having a root
canal.
Ever since
President Trump was elected it has been difficult figuring out what is going on
in the world. There is a dearth of news
outlets that actually practice journalism or can be considered reliable in any
way. In fact, it seems necessary to
cross the pond and look up the BBC to read anything that is not remotely
hysterical.
Take the
pro-woman, feminist resurrection panic going on at the moment. The election of Donald Trump in some circles
is tantamount to throwing the women’s movement back into the dark ages of
raising children and making dinner – God forbid!
I do not
understand how marching in female genitalia costumes and spewing obscenities
promotes female causes or elevates the ‘gentler’ sex. My moral compass does not reside within my
reproductive organs. I do not feel
represented by vulgar, angry women exulting in their “right” to murder the
unborn. Call me old fashioned.
What is
true? What does it mean to be a woman,
or a man for that matter?
First of
all, if we go back to Genesis 1:27 we read this:
God created man in His own image, in the image God He created him;
male and female He created them.
We are created
in the image of God – different from animals and other living things, created
to be like God – and with a gender. Male
is not better than female, nor female better than male. Both were created in the image of God. We have been purposely designed to complement
each other, not compete and destroy each other.
As Matthew
Henry wrote, God forbid that by indulging the body, and the
desires of it, we should make ourselves like the beasts that perish! Man was to be a creature different from all
that had been hitherto made. Flesh and
spirit, heaven and earth, must be put together in him. God said, Let us make man. Man, when he was made, was to glorify the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Into that
great name we are baptized, for to that great name we owe our being. It is the soul of man that especially bears
God's image.
What we are and what we are not is not determined by
our feelings, our lusts, our sinful bents, or our foolish wishes – we are more
than that. We were meant to be more than
that. The histrionics demonstrated by so
many in our day demonstrates an ignorance of not only what we are meant to be,
but a frank rebellion toward the One who made us.
…God made man
upright, but they sought out many devices (Ecclesiastes 7:29).
A fine mess we’ve made of things it seems.
Secondly, God loves women. He didn’t call women to bondage or second
rate citizenship. The fact that there
have been and are abuses to women does not justify hatred of men. Jesus routinely elevated women and destroyed
cultural norms. Perversion against women
and children is proof of original sin and the depravity of man. Women are just as guilty of committing vile
acts as men. Selfish sinfulness is an
equal opportunity employer.
Below is an article by Sue Bohlin, a Bible teacher
and frequent speaker for MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers). It summarizes nicely why Christianity is the
best thing that ever happened to women.
I love this
quote she uses from Dorothy Sayers:
Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were first at the Cradle
and last at the Cross. They had never
known a man like this Man – there had never been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at
them, who never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes
about them, never treated them either as ‘The women, God help us!’ or ‘The
ladies, God bless them!’; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without
condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously, who never
mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them
for being female; who had no ax to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend;
who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious.
It grieves
me that so many women in general, and young women in particular embrace the
feminist rhetoric. If we call ourselves
Christian, our attitudes and behaviors should be shaped by Scripture not the
sound-bites of the misguided and the culturally acceptable.
Paul gives
us sound instruction in Galatians 5:13-6:25:
For you were called to freedom brethren; only do not turn your
freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in
the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, take
care that you are not consumed by one another.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you
will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do
the things that you please. But if you
are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
Now the deeds of the flesh are
evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery,
enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn
you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not
inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law. Now
those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us
also walk by the Spirit. Let us not
become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
Is
it not time for the people of God, men and women, made in His image, to live
according to the Word of God? If we want
to make a difference in the culture, we need to stop compromising with it.
Thanks for bringing us to your lovely dwelling place. Yes, and Amen.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoy your writing! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteKeeping HIS Kingdom View.