As a Christian woman, I am worried, but I’m not worried about the movement itself. There are things in the movement that I completely agree with (such as the previously mentioned push to end sexual abuse and trafficking), and there are also many facets of the movement that I completely disagree with (such as pushing for a “woman’s right to choose” when it puts her innocent baby’s life on the line or the deep bitterness toward men I see consistently within many feminists I know). Even with the things that I disagree with, I have had to come to terms with the fact that the movement was started by and is still led by women (and sometimes men) that are not followers of Jesus. Therefore, why should I be surprised when they don’t act like Christ and push for the things that break His heart?
No, the reason why I am worried is because of the mass amount of Christian women that have jumped on board. Although this is worrying when we discuss different things (such as abortion) that many Christian women are quickly becoming okay with, I am most worried when we realize how many women are rejecting scripture dealing with Biblical womanhood because of feminism. Quite simply, feminism and the Bible are at odds with one another. You can either be a fully fledged follower of the feminist movement, or you can be a fully fledged liver of the Word of God. To see the contrast is as simple as looking at some scripture...
Ephesians 5:23: “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.”
Colossians 3:18: “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”
I could have listed many more verses that deal with how women should relate to men (and vice versa!)-the Bible is extraordinarily clear on the subject. Women are rejecting these key verses, not realizing that you either have to take or leave the Bible as a whole; either it’s all true and to be followed or none of it is. A strong characteristic of the feminist movement is the rejection of a man’s authority and a claim of absolute independence and control, and to see this trend in the Church is disturbing.
Ultimately, when women reject what the Bible says on this subject, they’re not rebelling against their husbands (or future husbands) or the “old-fashioned” way the Church works; they’re rebelling against God himself. This is not a problem with the men in the Church, although I could write many long and rambling posts on how Christian men need to shape up and stand up; this is a problem of the heart. This is yet another example of how Satan works through making pride, selfishness and rebellion in our hearts attractive and popular. When a woman’s heart is full of those things, the next logical step is to fight to be completely free from controlling and guiding influences, therefore, you get the “fight for independence” that so many women in the Church are joining today.
Sisters in Christ, can I just plead with you for a second? When we act like this toward the men in the Church, it weakens everything: our relationship with God, the body of Christ and it even can help take a strong man and make him weak. I know how attractive the world seems, and how they glorify and worship a “strong and independent woman”, trust me honey, I know how hard it is to get away from that- it’s something I struggle through daily.
I also know that none of us are perfect, and therefore our relationships with men (or anyone for that matter) will never be perfect. But that also isn’t a reason to just act however you want and ignore Biblical teaching on the subject. By the grace of God, fallen hearts have been redeemed, and that also means fallen and broken relational skills.
So my challenge for you is to just fight to be a godly, Bible obeying and Christ following woman in this culture where womanhood is being so blatantly twisted. Darlin, it will be hard, and there are times when culture is going to be screaming at you so loudly to act one way when you know God has called you to act like Him, but it is beyond worth it. Let us be the women that stand up for our men, our Churches and our relationships with Christ and fight back against this culture.
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