Gender Matters

Author: Pastor Chris, USA

Gender Matters:  One very important thing social engineers of the 21st century have failed to remember.

Apparently a radical feminist group has identified the enemy, and it is…LEGOs? What caused the controversy? Recently the new “LEGO Friends”, which were designed to appeal to little girls, hit the market. According to the feminist group the LadyFigs (lady figurines) looked too much like women and reflected a “stereotyping of preferred pastimes for girls”, because apparently the construction kits didn’t include women working on construction crews, or training for the army, for example. The leading spokesman for the group lamented that, “…it just disturbs us that this is the image that they [LEGO] want girls to see.”

Huh? They don’t want girls knowing what it means to be a girl? Dr. Leonard Sax, author of “Why Gender Matters” said, “These particular women’s groups are disconnected from reality in their desire to promote the idea that these gender differences are taught by the patriarchy or through socialization.” And he’s right!

Since the ‘60’s social engineers have been tampering with sex role definitions. This is crucial, because experts tell us that everything we do is influenced by gender assignment. They say that the first element of self-identity as a child comes from our identification as boys and girls. Any confusion at that point…or in the relationship between the sexes…breaks down marriages, and in turn churches, communities, and society at large.

Maleness and femaleness are not just social niceties that evolved through time. It was the inspired author of the book of beginnings who wrote, “male and female created He them.” – Gen. 1:27 (emphasis mine). Not one sex, but two! Much has been written, said, and done with regard to sex-change operations. Admittedly, it’s possible to alter some things by surgery, silicone, and hormones, but nothing can be done to change the assignment of gender made by God at the instance of conception. That determination is carried in each cell, and it will read “male”, or “female” from birth till death.

However, in the last forty years, everything understood to identify womanhood for thousands of years has been held up to ridicule and disdain. For example, not long ago, the term “housewife” became the symbol of exploitation and oppression. Even today, women who remain at home raising their own children get a cold shoulder from the society they live in.

Not only has there been a revolution in female sex role identity, but maleness has been turned upside down, too. What does it mean to be a man today? How are men expected to perform? It wasn’t too long ago that married men weren’t so confused. They understood that they were expected to protect and provide for their wives and children. He was a defender of his wife’s honor and she felt secure in his care.

We should never abandon the biblical concepts of maleness and femaleness at this delicate stage of earth’s history. Not that every woman must become a mother, mind you, or even a homemaker. But those who do must be honored, respected, and supported. There should be a clear delineation between the genders, revealed by clothing and function. Men should be encouraged to provide for and protect their families. Children must be valued as our most priceless possession. Their relationship with their mothers considered the most important association in their lives. Boys and girls should be taught that the genders are equal in worth but very different from one another.

And what about the rest of us? Well, as a popular psychologist once wrote: “Self-awareness begins with an understanding of our sexual identity. It must not be blurred by those with an avant-garde agenda of their own.” Be all that God has made you to be!