Taylor Swift was on a talk show this week. I like Taylor so I watched it. In the interview, she stated that she loves feminism. She said its allowed women to be strong, powerful and independent {or something like this}. Feminists demand to be heard. They demand their rights. Taylor Swift is a feminist and proud of it. Let’s analyze this for a minute since many in our society today think these are important qualities for women to develop, even Christian women. Does God want us to be strong, powerful and independent? Are these qualities He cherishes?
First of all, what
does being feminine look like according to the Bible? It is having a gentle and
quiet spirit. It does not demand being heard or being right. It is not
quarrelsome or argumentative. It is allowing our husbands to lead and respecting them. It is finding our strength in the Lord and not in ourselves or our
accomplishments. It is being dependent upon the Lord and His will for our
lives. It is not concerned with being powerful or making a name for ourselves.
The only name we want to make for ourselves is being known as a lover of Jesus
and others. God wants women to be feminine. He wants us to dress modestly and
act femininely. We should be known for our good works of serving others {I
Timothy 5:10}.
Ken’s mother was
feminine. She was always joyful and singing. When her husband scolded her, she
quickly went to him and asked him for forgiveness. She was a wise woman who
took rebuke. Ken NEVER heard her say one cross word to his father or be angry
with him. She often would jump on his lap hugging and kissing him. She honored her husband as head of the home. She loved
deeply and forgave freely.
Most of us have been
tainted by the feminist movement. It is deep in our core. It is in the air we
breathe! We want to be in control. We want to be right. We want our way. We
want to be independent from our husbands and not allow them to tell us when we
are wrong or confront us. {At least, I am this way. Maybe many of you are not.}
Many marriages are in
shambles today because of the feminist influence. Many husbands have no control
over their wives. They feel helpless to lead and therefore become passive. The
wives are strong and want their own way, eventually going off and doing their
own thing. We must be able to see this clearly and call it what it is, SIN.
Some women have a
much easier time being feminine and soft. They have a gentle and serving
personality. They are the golden retrievers among us. For some of us strong
personalities {lions}, however, it is much more difficult. We must not look to
our society and what is politically correct to decide how we should dress or behave. We need to look into the Word of God and find out how God defines
femininity.
Study I Peter 3:1-6
to find out God’s definition of femininity or I Timothy 5:5-14. Even Proverbs
31 gives many indications of how God defines a feminine woman.
Let it be the hidden person of
the heart,
with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit,
which is
precious in the sight of God.
I Peter 3:4
Logging you in...
Kathy · 543 weeks ago
Becky · 543 weeks ago
Patt · 543 weeks ago
Similarly, I'm surprised that you seem identify "femininity" with virtues like a gentle and quiet spirit, refraining from quarrels, demands and pride, instead having respect for others, finding strength in the Lord and abiding in God's will, doing good works and serving others. The Bible does not define "femininity" by those virtues -- it defines CHRISTIANITY by those virtues.
Yes, Christian women are called to those virtues, but it is not because they are women. It is because they are Christian. Christian men are called to the exact same virtues, so I think it's confusing to write as if they are specially for women.
(Also, there is no reason to mix up "leadership" with "control" -- Christian leadership is godly, servant-hearted influence. Control can be anything.)
FABBY · 543 weeks ago
Blessings,
FABBY
Katy · 543 weeks ago
ChristyH · 543 weeks ago
My daughter is getting married next summer after she turns 18. She has a mentor at church who starting to make her feel as if she isn't "enough" because she doesn't want college or telling her that after she is married that she needs to learn to do things on her own. My daughter, ever practical says How?, we will only have one car. All of the other girls are having college dreams and such.
I was raised with a "I am woman, hear me roar" outlook. It has taken serious effort to NOT given to that side of my personality.
Summer · 543 weeks ago
Ken · 543 weeks ago
Most men are not looking to spend a lifetime with another man. We want feminine qualities just like women have had throughout the centuries until now. We want our wives to be "strong and courageous in the Lord" but we want them to also melt into our arms, trust us and be a wife to us. We like our wives to dress pretty, look as pretty as they can, and be a sexually attractive person to us. Most of us do not mind a wife who speaks her mind, and is strong enough to tell us her fears and her desires, but we also want her to do it in a gentle way that lets us know she respects us and our decisions. That no matter how strong a woman I married, she loves, honors and respects me enough as her husband to allow me the final say on the very few matters we cannot resolve by way of communications.
So for most of the godly men out there let me be clear. We want feminine women. This is not a Bible issue; this is an issue of nature and sex. What most attracts men to a women IS the feminine things she does. The way she twirls her hair, or laughs with a feminine laugh, or knows just how to give you that smile. That when walk in the room we know that one is mine, and she is all dressed up and looking good for me. The last thing we want is a testosterone filled wife who wants to arm wrestle us for every decision made and wants to wear jeans all day, and night and even to bed.
I think sometimes God does not speak a lot about things that are so obvious, and this is one of those cases. Strength within femininity looks great, and much of that strength is spent in being a great wife, even with an imperfect husband. Remember, for the man with 600 ng/ml of testosterone rushing through his blood at any given time he is not looking for a woman's strength. He is looking for her to be his lover and friend.
Too much strength shown in the wrong ways is huge intimacy killer. For to have intimacy one must have trust, dependence and vulnerability. These are great feminine qualities that used to come naturally to most women, but now are protected against by guarded hearts in too many marriages. I think the Bible says all it needs to say about femininity, "A gentle and quiet spirit" "in submission to her husband in everything." How much more feminine can that be if most men want a feminine wife?
Only a messed up world says otherwise where the roles and natures of men and women are being forced to be blended, all in the name of gender equality. Christian wives are completely equal to their husbands, in all things pertaining to personhood, but if we do not play differing roles based on our natural makeup and God given roles, we lose out on God's best for our marriages and our lives.
Maria · 543 weeks ago
Reni · 543 weeks ago
Martha · 543 weeks ago
I enjoy reading your blog and your teaching. I have a question regarding women working outside the home. Obviously, as Christian women we should remain at home in our capacity as keepers of the home and not seek outside employment. My question is if you believe that it should be made illegal for women to work outside the home?
Nancy · 543 weeks ago
Ann · 543 weeks ago
Do you have a link to it?
Gretchen · 542 weeks ago
I think of Ruth boldly approaching Boaz on the threshing floor, taking matters into her own hands and asking to be redeemed by her kinsman.
I think of Esther, saving her people by directly defying the rule of her husband and being honored for it, even today.
I think of the woman with the affliction of the blood, a woman who was deeply unclean and shouldn't have even been among the general populace, let alone reaching out to touch a rabbi. But she was bold, an independent thinker, defiant of Jewish leadership, and strong in what she knew to be right.
There is much, much more to being a woman of faith and Godliness than sitting in your husband's lap, giggling and simpering. There is much Biblical support for submission, true, but none for the idea that a woman ought to be a weak imbecile incapable of contributing anything of value beyond bolstering "her man." Scripture is rife with examples that challenge that viewpoint and, indeed, eviscerate it.
Sarah · 542 weeks ago
God bless!
raphenroch 9p · 536 weeks ago
In Genesis 2, when Adam is presented with his wife, he says something very beautiful and profound. He says,
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'Woman',
for she was taken out of man."
The original Hebrew version is loaded with meaning. Adam was tasked with naming a large number of the creatures God had created. The last one that he names is Woman. The name he gives her is profound.
First, when he says, "For she was taken out of man," the word "man" that he uses is not the word 'adam', which also means "man" in Hebrew. The word used here can also be translated to "husband", and it is a derivative of the word meaning "strength". So he actually says, "For she was taken out of The Stronger."
The word for Woman (also "wife") is similarly related to the word meaning "weakness". So he says, "She shall be called The Weaker'."
It is interesting to note that, like with "male" and "female" in English, these two words in Hebrew sound very similar: ish and ishshya. But it is also interesting that, like "male" and "female" in English, 'ish' and 'ishshya' don't actually share a common root. Their similar sound is a coincidence. But it is pretty remarkable that words effectively meaning "stronger" and "weaker" converge to sound so similar, indicating that these names are appropriate terms for a husband and wife.
As a side note, Woman wasn't given the name of Eve until after the Fall. God promised to her a Seed who would undo the Curse and crush the serpent's head, and Adam responded by naming his wife Eve, which means something along the lines of "mother of the living". Thus this new name he gave her was a response made in faith indicating his trusting of God's promise.