The cover of TIME magazine, March 26, 2012 issue reads in bold, black letters: “The RICHER $ex—Women are overtaking men as America’s breadwinners. Why that’s good for everyone.” On the inside of the magazine, the title of the cover article of a two page spread caption reads: Women, Money and Power.
The article was sensationalized and written with an agenda. It was one sided for sure and not accurate in its representation. But it did demonstrate once again that society is still struggling with gender appreciation and identity.
Men are incredible and women are awesome. We are different. We have been from the beginning. We were not created to complete or compete with one another but to appreciate one another. We are each complete in who God made us to be.
God does not see us as a “unisex” society, but He loves us in the fullness of the gender that was determined in our mother’s womb.
Does Christ have a purpose without the church? Does the church have a purpose without Christ? The answer is NO. So it is with man and woman. We were designed to cohabitate, to support one another, to love one another and to appreciate one another.
Appreciate his “manhood.” When you encounter your “man” acting like a man, celebrate him and seek to understand him rather than resenting him and trying to change him. Do this with your sons. For goodness sake, don’t try to “feminize” them and make them like you—they aren’t and never will be. Pressing your viewpoint is often trying to get him to “think like a girl.” This is something that is impossible for him to do. Stop trying.
Even the select group of men who try to act like us with the wiggle in their walk, their subtle lisp when they talk and their contrived giggle, no matter how hard they try to be feminine, they can’t quite make it. (We don’t walk or talk like that!) With compassion, I just want to encourage them to enjoy their manhood—it is awesome.
Man and woman—there is a profound significance and equal worth of male and female. God has crowned both men and women with glory and honor. It is important to be reminded that God does not favor one over the other but loves and values us both—equally. In the same way, we should be mindful to appreciate the uniqueness of man and woman and crown each other with glory and honor.
“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You attend to him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (Ps. 8:4-6).
Devi Titus, wife of Larry Titus, is among America’s most recognized Christian conference speakers and authors. She is an award-winning communicator with the Washington Press Women’s Association and speaks to multiple thousands annually, both nationally and globally.