If you haven't ever read the Proverbs 31 description of a virtuous woman, specifically a wife and mother, you should. It is completely the opposite of what the feminist movement born in the 60's considers what a woman should be. According to feminism, women should be treated just like men. They are no different than men. The ideal model of feminism was Eleanor Roosevelt. Today, many people talk about Hillary Clinton as the model of a strong modern woman. If you look at Proverbs 31, you find an entirely different portrait of what the Bible defines as a virtuous wife.
The Bible clearly defines the roles of men and women and distinguishes between the two. Men were given the position of authority and leadership. Men are typically more logical, less emotional, less sensitive, more aggressive, and stronger. Men were given the curse of hard work and labor to provide for their families. Women are typically more sensitive, more emotional, more nurturing, less aggressive, and more delicate. These characteristics do not make one better than the other. This is how God created men and women and set their roles.
One problem with men over time has been that they take their position of authority and abuse it. They have demeaned women, treated them as lower class citizens, abused them, and lorded over them in a way that the Bible does not condone. This lead to the feminist movement and swung the pendulum too far the other direction. It became a bad thing for men to be men. They must be sensitive and more feminine. Women must act more like men. Women were no longer respected for taking care of their homes and their children and loving their husbands and looking at him as the leader. Women were told that if they were worth anything, they must leave the home and get a career job. They left what they were naturally gifted and strong in to act more like men and take on the curse of a man.
Proverbs 31 describes a virtuous wife as one who loves her husband all the days of her life. She rises up before everyone else and prepares everything for the upcoming day. She is compassionate and kind and speaks of her husband respectfully. She takes care of the home and her children. She has wisdom because she loves God and fears the Lord.
I know several women at my church who decided to be stay at home moms, my wife included, and many of them also home school their kids. These woman are all very intelligent and could easily work in a career and become very successful but they chose to do what Proverbs 31 describes as virtuous. Society gives them no glory and views them as lazy and dumb because they don't work and hand around with kids all day. Nothing could be further from the truth. These women work harder than almost any other woman out in the workforce. They rarely get a break and do not get paid for their time and services. They must be ready at all hours of the day to deal with any situation that presents itself. Most of them, however, are happy. They get joy and satisfaction taking on the responsibility of keeping their homes nice and raising up decent, respectful, knowledgeable children.
Our society is so screwed up right now because we have strayed so far from God's plan for men and women. Being a man is good. A man should be a leader and so many aren't today. They ditch out on their families, they deflect blame to others while trying to protect their own skin. They sit back and let women do all the work. Women think it is demeaning to submit to the authority of a man because they believe this makes them inferior. It does not. It establishes a hierarchy of leadership that is needed for society to function properly. It does not mean the woman should be trampled down and ruled. The Bible says that wives are to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord but then goes on to say that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the Church. We have a perfect model of marriage here. Wives should respect their husbands and follow his will as the leader. The husbands have the tougher job of loving their wives as Christ loves the Church. What did Christ do for the Church? He sacrificed His life for her. He served the Church, washed her feet, corrected and instructed her in a loving and compassionate way. He did not rule over her and tell her to do what He said or else! He is the perfect husband and we, as the Church, should want to submit because He is always doing what is in our best interest. So too should the wife and husband be. The husband should make the decision but those decisions should be based on what is best for his wife.
It is sickening to see what our society has become since the role reversals of the 60's defined what it meant to be a man and a woman. Men, take charge and be leaders. Women, love your husbands and quit trying to be like men. Society, honor women who take care of their homes and children and honor men who are strong and take responsibility for their families and their country.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comments:
Well, I think what many forget is that the Proverbs 31 woman did work outside her home too. She was very resourceful and smart. She was strong. But she also understood the male mindset and how much influence she has with her husband by making him feel respected. That does not tend to come naturally for most women.
By the way, I homeschool my children too! Blessings to you!
Post a Comment