Gender War Vs. Original Design
Photo by Cory Woodward
God’s truth confronting the culture . . .
Gender War Vs. Original Design
There is a gender-war raging—a movement to do away with any distinctions between the sexes. The appearance of gender-neutral restrooms, gender-neutral toy aisles, even going so far as a gender-neutral Bible, exhibit this. Being a “he” or a “she” is quickly becoming a thing of the past. I guess that will be the end of gender-revealing parties for pregnant women. We will be giving birth to a “person” instead of a boy or girl.
Some women seem to be mad that God made them women. They want to be like men in every respect. However, in order to accept the world’s mantra of equality between the sexes, we have to ignore part of our original design. What is our God-given design as women?
God made man—men and women—in His image. Together we display His complete image in the earth. But we are different. Women are God-designed to bear and nurture children—a gift that was not given to men. In order to pursue the roles of men, we have to shut off or severely limit that gift. In the creation story, God declared, “Good!” over everything He made. That means He declared, “Good!” over His design of women, including our ability to give birth. The enemy has convinced us that that gift is bad and led us to believe that it is a liability and curse instead of a blessing. Feminists hate this “biology is destiny” theory and have done everything they can to distance themselves from this reality in their quest to seek equality with men.
Not only does the design of our physical bodies point to childbearing as part of our calling as women, but certain portions of Scripture also affirm the calling of motherhood and homemaking. Eve, the first prototype of a woman, was called the “mother of all the living.” In the book of Genesis, our original designs were cursed at the fall: men in their work and women in childbearing. Adam was called to “keep the garden” (Genesis 2:15) and young widows were exhorted to “keep house” (1 Timothy 5:14 NASB)—both high callings. The Proverbs 31 woman “looked well to the ways of her household.” Older women were exhorted to teach the younger women, to among other things, love their husbands and children and to be “workers at home” (Titus 2:4).
The callings of both men and women are valuable and needed. Work “out there” is no more important than work at home. In fact, when work at home is neglected, the ramifications for society are devastating. In convincing women to abandon their primary focus of children and family, the enemy has succeeded in creating a huge void that is threatening to destroy the very fabric of society. Our calling as “keepers of the home” is a critical role in the health and well-being of the church and nation. We need to reject the lies of the enemy that say our job is a second-class calling. God has entrusted the health of the very building block of society into our hands. It is a very high calling.
Reject the lies of culture that degrade your role as a mother and homemaker. Fully give yourself to your original God-given design as a woman. Embrace fertility as a gift instead of a curse. Understand that as a keeper of the home you have been given a crucial role in the success of the church and our nation. Believe that children are a gift and reward—not a hindrance and stumbling block to your fulfillment and dreams. When you embrace the gift of children and motherhood, you are cooperating with God’s plans and MO in the earth. You are positioning yourself to influence history, the Kingdom of God, and the world in a way no one else can.
Don’t let anyone tell you that you are wasting your life. You are a world-changer!
Lisa
PS: Callie Boisture, pictured here with her husband Jason and their beautiful daughters, responded to my "Holiness or Happiness?" blog with this:
Thank you for another encouraging post! In a world full of the opposite sentiments, mothers need to hear a voice speaking out about losing one's life to find it. Nowhere in my Bible does it talk about the path of self-centered living being the path to peace and Christ-likeness. Nor does it say that "having it all" equals fulfillment. Keep posting. I'm reading and re-reading regularly!
Discussion questions:
Explain how the author’s statements about a woman’s original design challenge your ideas about the war for equality between men and women.
In what ways has the world’s view of fertility and children affected your own thinking?
How does the world’s view that work “out there” is more important than work at home affect you?
In what ways is the “keeper of the home” critical for the well-being of the church and society?
Prayer focus:
Ask God to wash away any perspective of the world that does not align with His truth that has influenced your view on the above topics (children, the role of women, the value of motherhood and homemaking.)
Ask God for open hearts and minds to receive His life-changing truth about these areas.
Ask for a growing awareness in your life of God’s approval and blessing on the daily work of your hands as a mother and homemaker.
Speak words of blessing and affirmation over each other as mothers and homemakers.