I’m Just a Girl…

Oh being a girl; full of emotion that we have no clue what to do with.  Sometimes the world calls us “Crazy” and sometimes maybe we believe them based off the way our emotions take us for a wild ride sometimes.  I am pretty sure that historically, women have been the most oppressed people group. But why?  It is not fair.  Even here in America, where our sisters went to extreme measures to fight for women’s rights; we find a glass ceiling staring down at us saying, “you will never reach the top” or “you will never do better than a man!”  And shame on the Church who favor men in the pulpit over women.  You know, I have actually seen certain churches advertise a job and say “only men apply.”  Why not women?  Are we incapable of thinking logically as a man?  Are we believed to be such emotional beings that we are incapable of being strong and powerful leaders?  What saddens, no angers  my heart the most is women who don’t believe in women being head pastors of churches or perhaps the president of the United States someday.  Sisters should stick together!  I have heard many people say that a woman should never be a president because she would let her emotions run her decisions.  While I will not argue that women are emotional beings (which is both a strength and a weakness at times); I never hear anyone say, “I would not want a man running this country because I would be too afraid he would make decisions based off his egotistical nature.”  Now, I am not a man-hater, but to say a woman would not make a good leader based off a (sometimes) weakness in females is ridiculous because men too have weaknesses (like pride and ego) that they would need to overcome to be good leaders.

I can’t help but think of the song, “I’m Just a Girl” by No Doubt.  I love this song because Gwen Stefani sends a powerful message in a relevant way.  She speaks loudly as a sister defending other sisters.  My favorite parts of the song are these:

Take this pink ribbon off my eyes
I’m exposed
And it’s no big surprise
Don’t you think I know
Exactly where I stand
This world is forcing me
To hold your hand

‘Cause I’m just a girl, little ol’ me
Don’t let me out of your sight
I’m just a girl, all pretty and petite
So don’t let me have any rights
Oh … I’ve had it up to here!

Guess I’m some kind of freak
‘Cause they all sit and stare
With their eyes
I’m just a girl
Take a good look at me
Just your typical prototype
Oh… I’ve had it up to here I
Oh… am I making myself clear?

I’m just a girl, living in captivity
Your rule of thumb
Makes me worry some
I’m just a girl, what’s my destiny?
What I’ve succumbed to
Is making me numb
I’m just a girl … my apologies
What I’ve become is so burdensome
I’m just a girl, lucky me
Twiddle-dum there’s no comparison

I love it that Gwen is not sorry at all for being a girl and she sarcastically lets the world know it!  She is not afraid to defend herself as a woman and confront the world for the injustice its had towards the female race.

You know what is cool about the God we serve; He is not afraid to confront this same injustice towards His daughters who He calls “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).  God made not only man in His image, but woman as well (Gen. 1:27).  Men and women were created equally by God and He sees them as equally valuable to the church, ministry, jobs, and society in general.  Do you still think men are more capable leaders as being head pastors or even the president of the United States?  Then you must not believe the Apostle Paul when he says, “ There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).  Plus, I must add to the argument historically.  After the twelve Apostles started to die off in the first century, it was mostly women leading churches in their homes.  Women were more attracted to Christianity than men because in Roman culture women were treated like dirt, but in Christian culture they were all the sudden treated like human beings.  Of course women in the first and second century would be attracted to Christianity.  Most men were secondary conversions which means they became Christians through their Christian wives sharing the gospel with them (Check out the book, “The Rise of Christianity” by Rodney Stark for further details on this).  It was not until the 4th century, when Constantine came into power and made Christianity the national religion that Roman culture and Christianity begin to mix.  Therefore,  the Roman way of thinking crept into Christianity and women leaders in the church were pushed to the side and the men took over.  To bring things up to modern times; there are way more female pastors than male pastors throughout the world (America is the exception)!  Women were and still are crucial to the developemnt of Christianity!!!

When I was 18-years-old I found myself in Bible school right in the heart of “The Bible Belt,”  Dallas, Texas!  Dallas is very conservative when it comes to just about everything.  I felt called by God, since I was 13-years-old, to be an evangelist (basically a minister of the Gospel of Christ).  I had two dogmatic young men in their twenties come up to me with their so-called ”biblical knowledge” and tell me that women had no place being leaders in the church.  They took many scriptures out of context to prove their point.  They did this knowing I wanted to be a leader in the church.  Shame on them! They discouraged a young girl, but I also thank them because that was the day I decided I would study God’s Word on this matter and never let anyone “knowledge bully” me in this area again.  Sure, I went home, called my dad and cried.  My very wise dad encouraged me that those two guys were immature and plain wrong!  My dad sent me books on the subject and I studied up.  After that I would never again let a man or woman win the argument that women were not meant to be leaders in the church or society!

Have you felt discouraged about being born a woman?  I have at times!  Though I love being taken care of and treasured by a man, I want to be able to be a great leader with or without a man holding my hand.  I strongly believe us women are capable of doing anything a man can intellectually or emotionally do.  We may be limited in some regards physically because our bodies were made more delicate, but we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Phil. 4:13).

I hope I don’t sound like a “man-basher” because I think men and women need each other and should love and respect one another.  I am just fed up with Christians and non-Christian societies oppressing women and discouraging their callings and dreams!  There is nothing more amazing than a man who stands up for women and there is nothing more sad than a woman who limits her own sisters!  This is a matter we should continually battle for justice in.  I believe that even if we stand-alone in this matter, God has our back!  He is known to fight for the oppressed and if God is for us women, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?

**If this is a subject you are confused on based off how you have read certain Bible scriptures or how you have been taught, I encourage you to read the book, “Why not Women?”  Here is the amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Why-Not-Women-Biblical-Leadership/dp/1576581837/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269350041&sr=1-1

This book seriously answers a lot of questions about Pauline theology and takes us back to the original writings in the Greek of the difficult passages about women found in the books of Timothy and Corinthians.