Boy Parts and Girl Parts

Science would say there isn't much difference between girls and guys other than plumbing and chemicals.  But any living person knows that there are such DRAMATIC differences between men and women expressed in their personalities.  Now while I would love to hash out the differences between men and women, I'm not majorly experienced with that.  I don't believe in speaking on something I don't have much knowledge on.  But there is something that bugged me for a very long time in my progression with God.

Not all churches believe this, but there are many denominations that believe that women have no place in the running of a church or commanding of men.  That sounds crazy to non-believers and it sounds painfully familiar to established Christians.  Well first let me show you where that comes from...

1 Timothy 2:12 - But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

1 Corinthians 14:34 - Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but [they are commanded] to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

When I first read these verses I cringed.  Haven't I been taught my whole life to be a strong independent woman that doesn't have to have a man by her side?  Well part of that is because I was raised by a strong independent single mom who I think did a pretty good job with what she had.  But I also grew up in the southern bible belt around a LOT of people that believed that in a church building women shouldn't speak anywhere but in the kitchen.  

I don't know about you but that does NOT sound very appealing to me... Especially since I'm not a huge cook.  I think a lot of women struggle with appreciating the Bible for its full worth and instruction because of verses like this.  I know I did, until I learned a really fascinating thing.  So lets take the Eden approach again...

In the garden of Eden Adam was originally the only person.  God eventually decided that even though Adam was awesome, he would get incredibly lonely.  Eventually God put Adam to sleep and took from his body a rib to create Eve.  He did not create a separate entity, he split the one into two.  Then Eve and Adam lived happily until Eve screwed it all up and ate the stupid apple that ended life as they knew it.  They were perfect before, they had a unity that was pure and beautiful and complex, but after the fall they had to separate to their own places to suffer their punishment.  Eve had to bear children and suffer through it, Adam had to work the land with very little return.  

So if your like me you didn't draw the right conclusion right at first...  But lets give it a closer look.  Our punishment for sin was to have to suffer, fight, work hard, and have the temptation and constant pressure of the devil.  That bled into our relationships between man and woman.  Man then had a commanding role, a place of leadership and direction over the household.  Women then had a submissive role and a mothering role.

Part of the problem is society's explanation of this.  "Submissive" sounds so negative, whereas the man's role of "commanding" sounds overtly positive.  Well I think that both of them have major issues. If you've ever been a leader or a follower you understand the difficulties and frustrations that both have along with them.  We, man and woman, were BOTH being punished.

So how does that translate to the church?  Well we originally were one.  Male and Female both came from the same creation.  So to me that means that both male attributes and female attributes are JUST as important.  So here's the conclusion I have drawn... both on my own experiences and with the support of the Bible.

There are LOTS of places in the Bible where advice is given, but It is not a requirement or a law.  Such as the verse that suggests that its easier to be poor or the verse that encourages staying out of a marriage.  But these verses are NOT laws.  They suggest easier ways that things can be done.  Well as a loud, commanding, confident but also boastful woman, I've learned that society doesn't appreciate that much. Even though I might have talents in command or leadership, I have almost always found that patience, prayer, gentleness, and love have been my most successful approaches.  When a man stands up to a crowd and speaks passionately and confidently, there is an innate spirit in us that wants to listen.  When a woman does so, it comes across as awkward or out of place.  The same is true for when a man bends down to a child and tries to care for them after they've fallen, the child will be less likely to trust and allow the man to care for him than if a woman were to do the same.

Let me make abundantly clear though, that THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.  I've met plenty of gentle men and plenty of leading women and they have been incredibly successful.  But the Bible doesn't try to fool us.  God allows us to read it because it covers a lot of major issues that we would otherwise struggle with.  I just believe that God is realistic with us.  He knows that the attributes he left with men would be best and most efficiently put to use in a leadership position and the attributes he pulled from Adam to give to women would best be used in a loving mothering position.  But Christianity could not exist without both.

So if you are a man, I encourage you to tap into your leadership, your strength, your power.  You automatically are given an instinctual ability to command and the rest of the world has an instinctually programmed response to listen to you.  If you are a woman I encourage you to try to be gentle and loving.  Humanity is programmed to respond positively to you.  I know I have personally seen the overwhelming ease there is in just being gentle and thoughtful.  If those "stereotypes" aren't for you then understand that God doesn't condemn those who are unique.  He loves unique people!!  And I personally will always be a little louder than I should be.  But the Bible wasn't written to judge me, but to help me understand the world around me.  So when I get bad responses from people I'm not surprised, I feel prepared to handle it.  The Bible is our weapon, our tool, and our handbook on life.  Its written for each person and a majority all at the same time.  Thats the beauty of it!

Ready for the coolest part?  This is still just a theory of mine... but it is so incredibly powerful.

Jesus was the only perfect human to walk this planet.  Notice next time you read in the Bible, when he is spoken of pay attention to the adjectives used to describe him.  Both traditionally masculine adjectives: "commanding, confident, powerful" and traditionally feminine adjectives:
"gentle, meek, mild" are used to describe him.  I have yet to read another verse where there is a shared role like that.  Its beautiful to me.  It makes it easier for me as a woman to relate to Jesus.  He understands me and he understands the man I will one day marry.

Doesn't God blow you away sometimes??  Please feel free to question, comment, and support or negate my points with scripture and such!!  I would love some feedback!