Men and Women

Lots of news lately in there Mere-o-sphere on Men versus Women, especially with our current political climate and my own musings about life and Panning.

I am reminded that just after "It is not good for the man to be alone" (Gen 2:18), God punishes the woman for her sin with, "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." (3:16). Many cite the Fall of Man (a Christianese term meaning, when Adam and Eve first sinned) as the point that pitted men and women against each other. One commentary expands on this idea:

"...the entrance of sin has made that duty [of submission] a punishment, which otherwise it would not have been. If man had not sinned, he would always have ruled with wisdom and love; and, if the woman had not sinned, she would always have obeyed with humility and meekness; and then the dominion would have been no grievance: but our own sin and folly make our yoke heavy."

Point being, since shortly after the beginning, men and women have fought each other for power and dominance--both parties unsatisfied and denying their roles. This goes well beyond women wanting to work (which I don't believe Scripture speaks against, an entire topic that is presented much better by many others, especially recently, like here, here and here) and men not wanting to marry. At the heart of it, we are walking away from God's design and blaming each other for our own failures. For men and women to act properly toward each other, sometimes even just to get along, requires and act of God, and if we want to see this actually pan out, we need to pray toward it.

"How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:4-5)

In other news, my toes are still numb, I still don't know who Anonymous Number 2/5 is on the Peter Pan Post, and despite tirading hypothetically on the subject, I don't feel any closer to actually improving the state of male-female relationships in my life.