It could be called the great divide. The divide between women of the church and women in secular culture. They don’t understand each other and they don’t even want to understand where the other is coming from. The divide’s colossal impact affects families, cultures, and the gospel.
Why is this crevice widening into a chasm? It did not used to be this way! Throughout the history of the church, we see women engaged in culture. From Lydia the business woman and supporter of the church in Paul’s day, to women like Amy Carmichael rescuing girls from temple sex slavery in India, the church has been filled with strong and fearless women. Women who were not hidden from society, but directly in the thick of things. These women knew their strengths, honed their skills, and lived lives with fearless tenacity. They weren’t always shouting in the public square, but they lived, worked, and engaged the society from where they were.The modern feminist movement has done much to rip apart the women of our country, thrusting them violently into categories whether they fit or not. Ironically, in many cases, the actions displayed by the feminist movement are pushing females back into what they fought so hard
The modern feminist movement has done much to rip apart the women of our country, thrusting them violently into categories whether they fit or not. Ironically, in many cases, the actions displayed by the movement are pushing females back into what they fought so hard against: sexual objectification. The beginning of the feminist movement provided women with many amazing benefits, such as the right to vote, making them functioning members of society and not objects. However, as time progressed these strong women let their desire for power outstrip their actual human rights. They have created an animal called the “modern feminist movement” that will not be happy until it possesses all the power it desires. This is what the church fears for its women: groups of individuals who are hungry for power without seeing the damage they are doing to their families, society, and ultimately the gospel. However, hiding from something that we fear only prolongs and worsens the problems for tomorrow’s generation. If females care about their testimony and the gospel’s reach in society, then we as women need to change the way that we train the next generation by changing our behavior.
The ultimate end of womanhood is not the glorification of self and power, but the glorification of God. Females were uniquely created to display the glory of God to a dying world in a way that no man ever could. This is what makes us uniquely strong and beautiful. Feminine charm is not something that should be used to create an edge over men as some modern feminist would suggest. Being a female is something of value that intelligent Christian women can celebrate, making those in her life stronger. Imagine a world where the next generation of women in the church were the most well-spoken, highly trained, and confident women in the world. Their influence over their families, husbands, and the larger society would change the culture. Because, unlike the modern feminists who are seeking acceptance and equality from the world, the Christian woman has an advantage because she is confident in the knowledge of who she is, who has made her, and whose glory she is seeking.
A church strives for strong biblical women. Women who are theologically sound, intelligent, and beautifully confident. Who are finely trained to know what they believe and unafraid to boldly address the larger culture, church, and family. These women are willing to care enough about their fellow man and the future generations to pursue knowledge and engage in society for the glory of God.
Only then is it possible to bridge the divide between secular culture to the church for the gospel’s glory with the labor of hardworking, strong, and fearless female minds and hands.
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