In honor of our women heading out to their retreat this week I thought I'd do a quick note of reflection on where we can find the true value of women.
If you have been following the news you may know that Texas’ ban on abortions after a heartbeat is detected was upheld by the Supreme Court. You will also know this was met with a tremendous amount of anger and calls for the right to end the life of a child in the womb. I have had concerns regarding the messaging surrounding abortion for several decades. The messaging seems to imply a value on women that diminishes their value that God has already instilled in them. Don’t get me wrong, if people don’t want to have children (I think you have a very hard time squaring that with Scripture) then they have opportunities and means to protect yourself from reproducing. The argument of concern that consistently seems to be leveled is the need for women to rid themselves of the burden of a child because she can be of greater value without one. While this is not a direct statement it is clear in much of the messaging I hear. Essentially the worldly view of how to make women valuable is to make them more like men. The problem is that this denies women of the inherent value God created them with. At Crossroads we hold a very complementarian role for women in the church. What this means is that women are equal to men in value, and with that both parts work in conjunction. It further honors the role of both men and women in their capacity to how God has designed them. It is within this design that we can fulfill the purpose of Christ and impact the world. It does not seek to make women fulfill the role of men and vice versa. It honors both as created in the image of God and equal in value.
This is not necessarily a message you will get from popular culture or fads that pass. In fact many of those who seek to advance the right to kill a child in the womb in their arguments argue the exact opposite of this. Some of whom seek to supplant men from their roles entirely placing a burden on women they aren’t designed or capable of meeting. The same can be said of men attempting to fulfill the role of women, in all honesty I can say of myself, I suck at trying to do the stuff that my wife does inherently well. I’ve also found it a bit difficult to get pregnant, grow a baby, and birth a baby. Something I realized when my mother used to tell me that she didn’t have any more kids after me because the agreement with my dad was that if he had the next one she would have a few more.
What if we quit listening to the blind guides who speak out of ignorance and stupid self-promotion and instead garnered our value from the designer who made us in His image. Below is a “bookend” section from Proverbs 31 on the true value of a woman.
10 An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life….
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.
Women, you are of far more value than what the world lies to you about. Find your value in how God has designed you.
The True Value of Women
In honor of our women heading out to their retreat this week I thought I'd do a quick note of reflection on where we can find the true value of women.
If you have been following the news you may know that Texas’ ban on abortions after a heartbeat is detected was upheld by the Supreme Court. You will also know this was met with a tremendous amount of anger and calls for the right to end the life of a child in the womb. I have had concerns regarding the messaging surrounding abortion for several decades. The messaging seems to imply a value on women that diminishes their value that God has already instilled in them. Don’t get me wrong, if people don’t want to have children (I think you have a very hard time squaring that with Scripture) then they have opportunities and means to protect yourself from reproducing. The argument of concern that consistently seems to be leveled is the need for women to rid themselves of the burden of a child because she can be of greater value without one. While this is not a direct statement it is clear in much of the messaging I hear. Essentially the worldly view of how to make women valuable is to make them more like men. The problem is that this denies women of the inherent value God created them with. At Crossroads we hold a very complementarian role for women in the church. What this means is that women are equal to men in value, and with that both parts work in conjunction. It further honors the role of both men and women in their capacity to how God has designed them. It is within this design that we can fulfill the purpose of Christ and impact the world. It does not seek to make women fulfill the role of men and vice versa. It honors both as created in the image of God and equal in value.
This is not necessarily a message you will get from popular culture or fads that pass. In fact many of those who seek to advance the right to kill a child in the womb in their arguments argue the exact opposite of this. Some of whom seek to supplant men from their roles entirely placing a burden on women they aren’t designed or capable of meeting. The same can be said of men attempting to fulfill the role of women, in all honesty I can say of myself, I suck at trying to do the stuff that my wife does inherently well. I’ve also found it a bit difficult to get pregnant, grow a baby, and birth a baby. Something I realized when my mother used to tell me that she didn’t have any more kids after me because the agreement with my dad was that if he had the next one she would have a few more.
What if we quit listening to the blind guides who speak out of ignorance and stupid self-promotion and instead garnered our value from the designer who made us in His image. Below is a “bookend” section from Proverbs 31 on the true value of a woman.
10 An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life….
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.
Women, you are of far more value than what the world lies to you about. Find your value in how God has designed you.