There are many movements today, some old and some new, that are drawing attention to the way women are viewed and treated in this world. We speak out against the abuse of women, the sex slave industry, and the right to earn equal salaries as men do in the corporate world, based on our education and experience, not the gender their eyes see. There are some movements that are bent on lessening the value of men and attacking their manhood, their strength and their leadership. This is one of those movements I would never support because I believe in the beauty of a man’s strength, the different way he was divinely created and I believe in his responsibility to provide for his family. I write as a Christian woman who feels strongly about this. In my mind, the definition of a man is one who has been created in the image of God and set apart by the Lord to protect, care for, and love his family.
With all these movements today, there is one that remains silent and is rarely shared. It is the movement of men against women because they have chosen to their place when the men in their lives have not chosen to honor their God given role as husband and priest of the home. Scripture guides us and gives us a peek into the God centered home and what it should look like. Unfortunately, our homes have been beautifully decorated on the outside to have the appearance of godliness, but inside, there is division, brokenness and war. There are men who say they believe in the Word of God but use the words in scripture to humble, humiliate and break the spirit of the woman in their life and the children in their home. Men, who are up and down in their faith walk, believe in some scriptures but do not adhere to all of them. They find it easy to use words against you but there is never a word that says, “I am sorry. I will never do this again.” They walk around as if they’re right and the wife is wrong. Silence dominates the home and the woman’s attempts to speak or fix what is broken is met with the husband storming away, saying, “I’m not going to speak about this again!” or, “You’re going to start again?”
Many women movements have been started by women who at one time in their childhood or their life have witnessed and/or experienced the traumatic moments of abusive homes where a mother was mistreated, where the woman was not allowed to work, where the woman had to be silent and had no say in any matter of the home or the family, or where the daughter was abused and no one seemed to notice her pain. Abused and shattered women have joined other women to lash out against men. Their once silenced voices have joined with others to speak out and sadly, they’ve spoken against all men, when not all men have been the monsters in their lives.
We blame so many of these movements for their anger and their defiance and it is so sad that so many of them blame God. It is not the Lord who has caused their misfortune or the abuse. It has never been God who desired their pain and their neglect. It is men and even women who have not truly embraced the loving message of the Bible and understood that God’s purpose and goal for the family is to love, to honor, to respect, to speak life, to embrace, to hold close to one’s heart, and to push forward to do great things. Too many have been taught that scriptures give men the right to be bullies and this misinterpretation of scripture has led to so many broken home, families that might never be healed, and so many that have chosen to blame God for their hurt and will never want to hear about a loving God again. Because to them, a loving God has never existed. I am a witness that all men speak hurtful or mistreat women. The men in my family and many men I know are beautiful examples of loving husbands and men of God. I am drawing attention to men who have refused to honor the Lord.
There are many women who live in homes where they want a change. They live with men who belittle them, attack them with words and make them feel as if they have no worth. If a woman is educated, works, takes care of the house because the man won’t, and she goes out to face the world, she is told that she wants to be a man. If a woman wants to have her home in order and chooses to lead because the husband is absent in every way possible even when he is physically present, she is told that she wants to be the man of the house. If the woman chooses to save money for an emergency then she is keeping secrets from the husband. Mind you, he has never chosen to save a penny throughout the entire marriage, but she is wrong in every way, always. Where is the man of God in this situation? Where is the man after God’s heart?
As a woman of God, I do not desire to be a man, behave or function as a man. I know who I am physically, mentally and emotionally. I love that the Lord chose to create me as a female. I am also grateful that the Lord made me strong so that I could face the challenges that come my way with a fearless attitude. I am thankful that the Lord has always shown me He is my helper, the keeper of my heart, and that as I trust Him, I am never alone and I am never abandoned. There is no desire in me to want to take over a home, a Christian home, where scripture teaches that the man is the priest of the home. Yet, I continue to walk as one who will serve the Lord with or without the leading of a husband, regardless if he chooses to truly consecrate his life to the Lord or not. I have chosen not to be moved by a man’s decision or lack of one. It is not my rebellion against men. I believe if a man wants to be followed and cherished, he has to reflect the God of the Bible that I have come to know. I believe the God of the Bible is loving, a warrior that protects those He loves, merciful, faithful, never a liar and always true. I see God as trustworthy, an encourager, a helper, one who gives strength, and one whose love is evident through every action. To me, the man of God who leads his home according to scripture is the man I would always follow. A woman should not respect her husband out of fear or forced duty but out of love and because she has chosen to do so.
If a woman is strong, loves learning, and has a mind to speak on all topics, this doesn’t mean she wants to be a man. This means she also was created in the image of God, with creativity, intelligence, strength, and gifts. If a woman has ideas, builds works outside the home, or inside the home putting up walls and flooring, this doesn’t mean she wants to be better than her husband. She also was created by a God who enabled her with gifts and abilities to do what we usually saw men only do in the past. The only reason you didn’t see a woman painting or hammering is because men only saw them as someone to cook, meet their sexual needs in bed, give birth, and take care of children. Had they allowed the woman to be who God always intended her to be, they would have seen early on that women were and are capable of great things, in the strength God has given them. I am not saying and will never say that we are equal in everything because I am vey aware that I do not have the same physical strength as a man. Yet, I am strong because I am a woman of God who has also been strengthened and empowered to do great things in my lifetime. I have been called to be an example to other women who may feel a desire to go to school or do something extraordinary. To that woman, I say, “Go for it! With God before you, you can do all things you put your heart and mind to do!”
You are a woman of God. If God is for you, who can be against you? You are not easily persuaded to follow the world’s standards and viewpoints because you have the mind of Christ and your eyes are set on Him, to live for Him. You are a woman of God.
I believe in a woman’s right to speak out, to vote, to earn equal pay, to be able to compete in the workplace, and to be able to be a leader. I don’t believe in speaking out against men or promoting any agenda to take away their worth, the greatness in them placed there by God to be leaders, men of their homes, and men of strength. I believe men of God can embrace their wife’s ability to work alongside of him to do great things for the Lord and their community. I believe men are called to lead their homes and also see that they have a wife that is capable of making choices, doing the impossible, and making her own personal dreams happen as well.
I am a woman of God, created by the Lord, and I am elated to be loved by my Heavenly Father. I cannot be broken. I will not be shaken. I am a woman of God.
