Have you been as put off as I have at the images dominating the news cycle lately of strident, aggressive, and sometimes profanity-spewing women pushing themselves onto the world or national stage either in celebration of a hard-fought victory or to fight for their cause? I can appreciate the thrill of winning THE most coveted prize in the world of women’s soccer or the pent-up passion over an all-consuming issue. We all have those convictions that can inflame the very core of our being. But if women want to be seen as persons of influence, I think those tactics will miss the mark. On the other hand, for those of us who are followers of Jesus, it’s a good time for us to think seriously about our influence as women representing Christ in our world in ways that are winsome.
Perhaps because we’ve been breathing feminist air for so long, it will be helpful to regain our sense of purpose by reading objective reporting from outside the culture and from another era when the role of women was not so much about social, economic and political power, but about helping to build an enduring society that would serve succeeding generations well to the glory of God. In the early 19th century a French statesman and social philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, came abroad to observe the American experiment. He wrote:
“I do not question that the great austerity of manners that is observable in the United States arises, in the first instance, from religious faith … its influence over the mind of woman is supreme, and women are the protectors of morals. There is no country in the world where the tie of marriage is more respected than in America or where conjugal happiness is more highly or worthily appreciated …”*
About that same era, Noah Webster published his American Dictionary of the English Language in which he offered this definition of feminine, (a rarely used word these days): “a French word; the first syllable may be/probably is from ‘womb’; the last part of the word meaning ‘man,’ thus meaning womb man; pertaining to the female sex; soft, tender; destitute of manly qualities.”** The Creator has distinctly endowed women with a physicality and inclination to reproduce and nurture life in marriage, motherhood, and beyond.
Rather than competing with, emulating or emasculating men, we females are told in Scripture we will find our place of blessing and honor in embracing God’s calling for us. In Proverbs we read “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband … “ (12:4) And wouldn’t we all love to be rewarded with these words from our husbands and children: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” (Proverbs 31:29). And better yet, to be found pleasing in God’s sight because of our “gentle and quiet spirit.” (I Peter 3:4)
I think the most significant challenge for women today—married with children, or career women, married or single—is to embrace and celebrate the goodness and rewards of God’s design: male and female, equal in every way, created in the image of God, the two genders serving as a complement to one another to the glory of God. The very young Virgin Mary said, “… let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) Women represent an aspect of the character of God without which our culture is woefully deficient. In the beginning, the Creator pronounced everything He had created good with the exception of Paradise without a woman.
How do you think women today can be encouraged to find their identity according to His Word? And who will you encourage to embrace God’s design?
*America’s God & Country, Encyclopedia of Quotations, William Federer, FAME Publishing, Coppell, Texas, pg. 205.
**American Dictionary of the English Language Facsimile Edition published by Foundation for American Christian Education, San Francisco, California.