Just recently, I've heard a lot of talk about what it means to be a biblical man or woman. I'm not sure that I'm seeing a lack of understanding on the topic or if God wants me to clarify my thoughts on the matter. Either way, I woke up this morning an hour earlier than I wanted to and had a fully-written blog entry running through my head.
So what does it mean to be a biblical man or woman, ie a man or woman after God's own heart? It's a little different for men and women, but not as different as people often think.
My basis for such a statement? There is neither male nor female, slave nor free, Jew nor Greek because we are all one in Jesus.
As a body of believers, we all work together in unison for the same ultimate goal, the glorification of Jesus as Lord and the encouraging of one another in the hope we have. Because each of us represent just one part of the body, we all have different purposes in life.
It is true men and women think differently from each other. Men tend to be very structured, organized, and compartmentalized when it comes to their thoughts and emotions. Women tend to be all over the place, making them better at multitasking and building relationships. These gender-specific features coincide with the biblical roles men and women play.
Beautiful women are a blessing to behold. A woman's beauty should not come from her make up or how she did her hair, but from a gentle, quiet spirit.
As for that whole "submit" thing Christian men throw around, it's the same verb used to describe our relationship to God. I lent my concordance to someone so I cannot find the other references to show you this, but I have done the research in the past and know it to be true. So, "wives, submit yourselves to your husbands" as the bible tells us in Ephesians and 1 Peter among other places, it shouldn't be hard for a God-fearing woman to do if her husband is submitting himself to the Lord. In that case, both husband and wife will be of like mind anyways, so there really shouldn't be any actual submitting needed. If anything, the act of a wife submitting to her husband is her humbling herself so Jesus is glorified by both of them.
That's not to say that a woman needs to be complacent when her husband is leading the family in a direction far from where God is.
While we're on the topic of the woman's role in husband-wife relations, let me point out the incredible worth women have. Lots of Christians think women are supposed to be in the kitchen all the time, just popping out babies for their hubby. I call bull dung.
In the time Genesis was written, women were treated like dirt. Back then, their worth was nothing more than the potential for an economic agreement with another family. They really didn't have much of a place in society. Yet, when Jacob's wife Rachel wanted to name their second son Ben-Oni, meaning "son of my trouble" because she was about to die from giving birth, Jacob stepped in and said the child was to be named Benjamin, meaning "son of my right hand." Let me put things in perspective.
In this culture, the right hand was the hand with which you did your work. Your left hand was considered filthy, unclean, and vulgar because back then, they didn't have Charmin Ultra Soft. This places even more significance on the right hand. In fact, in biblical times as is still true today, if a person is said to be your right hand, it means they have the utmost importance in your life, that you value them more than all others, that they are indispensable to your very existence. For a king to seat someone at his right hand means that this person is the king's most trusted adviser; it is the highest honor a king can bestow on anyone short of handing over the throne.
For Jacob, that was Rachel.
Additionally, he who finds a wife finds what is good and a prudent wife is from the Lord.
The wife of noble character is the role model for many women, and for good reason. Proverbs 31 describes in wonderful detail how much of a servant's heart this woman has, how her relationships bring honor and praise to her family and husband, and how her family is well-taken-care-of. Earthly women might try to charm people to get what they want, or make themselves more beautiful, but really, the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
In much the same way, men are a source of strength for their wives. It is their job to provide clothing and shelter for their wives, and to love them as the Lord loves us. That means, for those of you not familiar with the extent of God's love for us, it is the husbands job to humble himself to his wife so that in all he does, he can serve her. He needs to be willing to sacrifice his wants and desires for hers, and see that in the end, she is praised more than he.
Outside the context of marriage, because not all us dudes are married or dating anyone, the idea is that dudes (like women) need to submit themselves wholly to the Lord. I think King David summed it up best on his deathbed when he swore his son Solomon in as king: Be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires; walk in his ways and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go.
Let's go deeper. What does the Lord require? To act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. The greatest commandment is this, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and will all your soul and to love your neighbor as yourself.
Forget that stupid machoism garbage. This is what a real man looks like.
I want to reiterate though that this separation between men and women does not exist in God's kingdom. God through the prophet Joel, in a prophecy about the coming of the Lord, stated "I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days."
Praise God.
