As a Christian young woman it is hard to know where to stand on the issue of feminism. I mean, it is has some good points, right? Equality is a big point and a good thing to strive to create for all people. But on the other end of the spectrum, I certainly don't get offended if a guy holds open a door for me. I have made it my goal in life to become a princess and I mean if they want to help the cause, so be it. Basically, I would fail at being an advocate for feminism. Anyways back to the point... What does the Bible have to say about feminism? Did women in the Bible struggle with it as much as we do now?
The four things I considered to be most important from this chapter were the following:
1.) You as a woman, are worth neither less nor more than your male counterparts. You are different, obviously, but only in function, not in value.
God made boys and girls differently. This is something we learn as children and continue to learn and question as we grow older. We may say or hear things like this:
"Why doesn't that guy understand how I feel?"
"Why are you crying...?"
"You're so emotional!"
"You're just so insensitive!"
Sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so. My mom described it to me like this - boys are Tupperware and girls are fine china. What she meant was boys were designed to be a little tougher. They can be thrown around, dropped, and put in the dishwasher and never even get a scratch. But girls as china are so fragile. Girls are delicate and need extra special care. You don't throw your fine china in a drawer by the fridge. No, you place your china in a special hutch or cabinet, handle it with care, and would never even consider the dishwasher. God also said this in different words when he referred to the woman as the weaker vessel. He didn't mean she was incapable or unintelligent, He just meant she was more fragile and needed some extra care. God made us that way. This means he designed a little bit of a princess in us all; it's okay.
But the fact that God made us differently doesn't mean one is more important than the other. God gave us different roles because we need each other. The world couldn't survive if only men were here or only women were...obviously. But more than the need to 'be fruitful and multiple and fill the earth' is the need to have companionship, collaboration, and dependence. God made us to work together in all things, each with our different roles. We have equality despite our differences.
(1 Peter 3:7)
2.) Only by surrendering to His design for womanhood will we as women experience the liberation we trying so desperately to recover elsewhere.
Just as God designed us differently, he also gave man and woman different jobs and roles. By example in the Bible, God created the man to be the provider and protector of the wife, family, and home. He created the woman with nurturing capabilities to care for the family. God created the man to be head of the family. He created woman to assist in that role by supporting her husband. The Bible says we were created for man to be his companion and helper. This doesn't mean we were and afterthought or aren't as important. It just means that God knew man couldn't do it all alone. The Bible says neither man or woman is independent of the other. God meant for a husband and wife to work together through Him and for Him. So as women, when we try to fulfill roles that God designed for a man, we will not be fulfilled. We must strive to be what God created us to be and when we do that God will help us reach our full potential.
(Genesis 2:18, 1 Corinthians 11:3,8-11)
3.) If God's plan for you were to have an inferior status, why would He infuse such great worth into you, then demean you into subservience by His own design?
God loves you SO much! He really does. Even though sometimes as women we may feel less important, we should always know that God values us. I mean he took a rib away from Adam to create Eve. Obviously God thought Adam really needed her for Him to do that. God also gave women the ability to do things and fill certain capacities that a man never could. So he instilled a lot of value and worth into all women to make us have an equal contribution to this world, to our church, and to our marriage. He never meat for us to feel inadequate or less important. Remember ladies, God doesn't make junk. You are a daughter of the King and that makes you a princess!
4.) A woman's strength is best seen not in the demonstration of her power, but in her ability to harness it under the authority of God-given leadership.
Lastly, is this interesting thought. Could I run a household alone, run for president, join the military, preach a sermon, coach football, and anything else typically called a "man's job"? SURE. Absolutely. But just because I can and have the ability to doesn't mean I should. I know, that is SO tough sometimes. But think of it this way, we have the ability to do almost anything, but does that mean we should? God has given us choices. We can choose to sin or we can choose to follow His will. Now while I won't go as far to say stepping out of your Biblical role is a sin, I will say that I don't think it is what God intended.
All of things are so so so tough for me. I am a very opinionated, outspoken, and independent young lady. Sometimes I have trouble submitting to authority, keeping my opinion to myself, or just shutting up. But now that I am more aware of God's intentions for me as a woman, I am striving to be the person He wants me to be. I want to be all that God created me to be. I want to fulfill His purpose for my life. I want to please Him. So with every breath, every step, and every word, I will strive to follow His word. Even when it's tough, even when I don't feel like it, and even when it means I may be ridiculed. God does so much for me every single day, so even when it comes to my womanly role, I will strive to have biblical femininity.
I will strive to be His princess.
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