I am a man, a Christian. I fill roles (functions) and I have relationships (interact with others).
Roles do not emasculate a man nor un-feminize a woman, God has a plan and today's society is blurring the distinctions.
Guard your God given gender identity.
Avoid extremes.
Men, allow no machismo or effeminacy.
Women, be feminine, not feminist.
Filter and flush bad input.
ROLES AND RELATIONSHIPS...
We all fill many roles in life; I am a man, a son, a husband, a father, a father-in-law, a grandfather, a friend, a pastor.
ROLES AND RELATIONSHIPS...
We all fill many roles in life; I am a man, a son, a husband, a father, a father-in-law, a grandfather, a friend, a pastor.
Some roles are more important than other roles.
I know the following ideas are not going to fly with the politically correct crowd.
Our core role is that we are either male of female. Other fundamental roles derive from this; husband or wife, father or mother, breadwinner or homemaker.
I know the following ideas are not going to fly with the politically correct crowd.
Our core role is that we are either male of female. Other fundamental roles derive from this; husband or wife, father or mother, breadwinner or homemaker.
The male can never be the wife, ever, nor can he be the mother, though the male may have to do the work of the mother (mother is sick, absent, deceased). While there are extenuating circumstances, which casts males into the role of homemaker, or females into the role of breadwinner, it is the extreme or exception to the rule rather than the rule. It is not sin for a man to wash the dishes or the woman to change the spark plugs in the car, but in today's androgynous, homosexually, bisexually biased society, we must protect God's established parameters.
Just because we like something is not reason enough to throw caution to the wind, in the same way that heterosexuals cannot give free rein to normal sexual drives. Neither pleasure nor popularity determines propriety. Males must guard against effeminate feelings and lifestyles just as females must guard against masculine tendencies.
Remember, this is not to say that male is better than female (or female is better than male), but rather, male is naturally different from female. A woman should not seek to be masculine anymore than a man should seek to be feminine, and neither one should seek to abandon their God given gender identity. God made males and females different for a reason and we should celebrate God's design.
Our core relationship is that we either love, trust, obey Christ or we do not. Every other relationship will be enhanced, actually defined by our relationship to Christ. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church; Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
It is not enough that a man perform the role of husband, he must relate to to his wife accordingly. His relationship will be different with his wife than with any other woman. This is true for all relationships.
There are various events and influences that form our view of our roles and relationships. We are taught concepts of maleness and femaleness by precept and example. However, the teaching may not be consistent with God's plan. If our rearing was flawed, we need to flush the faulty input out of our lives. For instance, some people (societies) communicate a machismo mentality while others communicate an effeminate mentality for males. God expects males to be men, to be masculine, but God also expects men to be gentle men, sensitive men, cultured men, considerate men. Jesus modeled perfect maleness.
Not only should we flush out the bad influences of the past, we should filter out the bad influences of the present.
Remember, this is not to say that male is better than female (or female is better than male), but rather, male is naturally different from female. A woman should not seek to be masculine anymore than a man should seek to be feminine, and neither one should seek to abandon their God given gender identity. God made males and females different for a reason and we should celebrate God's design.
Our core relationship is that we either love, trust, obey Christ or we do not. Every other relationship will be enhanced, actually defined by our relationship to Christ. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church; Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
It is not enough that a man perform the role of husband, he must relate to to his wife accordingly. His relationship will be different with his wife than with any other woman. This is true for all relationships.
There are various events and influences that form our view of our roles and relationships. We are taught concepts of maleness and femaleness by precept and example. However, the teaching may not be consistent with God's plan. If our rearing was flawed, we need to flush the faulty input out of our lives. For instance, some people (societies) communicate a machismo mentality while others communicate an effeminate mentality for males. God expects males to be men, to be masculine, but God also expects men to be gentle men, sensitive men, cultured men, considerate men. Jesus modeled perfect maleness.
Not only should we flush out the bad influences of the past, we should filter out the bad influences of the present.
The world wants to conform us to its mold. Today's western society wants blur the lines of distinction between maleness and femaleness. Likewise, there are religious groups that demean femaleness. The influences can be bold or subtle and we must be aware of the active attempt to thwart God's plan for men to be men and women to be women.
