A Little Bit of Controversy

I apologize for the delay. I have been sick sick sick, and I haven’t felt like doing much.

Hollywood never ceases to amaze. An actress I thoroughly admired until now, an actress who claims to be a Christian, asked on Twitter, “Why aren’t Christian women doing more for women’s rights globally and locally?”

Uh, excuse me?!

She  went on to ask, “Why do Christians as a whole seem to be one of the largest anti-women’s lib groups?”

Whoa! Back the truck up. Making generalizations, aren’t you?

Obviously, these questions caused a mini stir in this actress’ Twitter world. A fan pointed out that men and women were created to be equal, but their differences complement each other, before pointing out that men are supposed to be the head of the family. The actress stated that men shouldn’t be the head of the family; that the husband and wife should be equal in everything.

Let’s pause right there for a second.

I am not a burn-your-bra feminist. My mindset is more of “If boys can do it, girls can do it”. That being said, I realize that men and women ARE different, and we were created to fulfill different tasks. I acknowledge the fact that I was not around for many of the huge markers in the feminist movement. I appreciate the women who fought to get laws changed so that women could vote. I appreciate women who insisted upon getting an education. I appreciate the women who clawed their way into a male driven world and made careers for themselves. I appreciate the men who supported them. I appreciate the husbands who made sacrifices so their wives could work. I appreciate the fathers who paid for their daughters’ education.  

What I don’t appreciate is being sold short. I am the oldest of two girls, with a dad and a mom who both worked outside the home. I was taught that Jesus puts desires in our hearts. I was taught that we are to seek His will in our lives, and we are to obey that. I was taught to do my best in life, from school to sports to choir to relationships. I was taught to put others before myself.

My parents never put limitations on my sister and me. We were never expected to grow up and be a certain thing. We weren’t placed in a box and told to stay there. We were given room to grow and flourish. We were given love. I grew up with wonderful examples of a family rooted in Christ and dedicated to serving others.

I have been blessed to travel in my life, from family road trips to destination vacations to mission trips. Traveling takes you to places beyond your home, places that are often way outside of your comfort zone. I know how blessed the women of America are. And I don’t even think they realize how blessed they are! I sure didn’t. It took seeing desolate souls, who live in pitiful places, before I was broken and on my knees, repenting of everything I’ve ever taken for granted. Those same souls have less than half of what I have, yet they wake up every day and put one foot in front of the other to take care of themselves and their families.

Many times, mothers are left to fend for their children alone. These mothers are often denied the right to vote, jobs, food, and homes just because they are women. These mothers are more concerned with feeding their kids than worrying about the voting for a man who won’t help them. I’m sure that if they didn’t have kids to feed, then they would fight like banshees (Indians, for you non Texas folk) to get what they are denied. There comes a point where every day is a battle, just to put food on the table and find a bed for their babies. They put their lives on the line every single day, just to provide for their families.

I see the fight here in America too. We are in the twenty-first century, and women still get paid less than men for doing the same job. Many people feel that women ought to drop their educations and careers as soon as they marry and have a family. Even the church expects women to put their families above themselves. (I’m not disagreeing; I’m just stating the facts.)

I find it insulting that the afore mentioned actress had the audacity to accuse Christians of not doing enough for women. Of course we could do more; we can always do more. We can always try harder. We can always aim higher. We can always step one foot further out of our comfort zones to do God’s will.

There are MANY Christians who are doing what they can for others with what they have. And not just for women’s rights, but for families, and children, and the sick, and the homeless, and the jobless, too. From their homes and neighborhoods to third world countries, people are trying to change things. People are trying to lead the lost to Christ. People are trying to teach single mothers job skills. People are trying to find fathers work. People are trying to love on and raise orphans. People are trying to help others get through their day to day lives. People just like you and I, who believe in a faithful God. People who have trusted God to provide and seen him follow through. These are people who believe that God has a beautiful plan out of all this chaos.  

Maybe you don’t know their names; maybe you live and breathe alongside some of these people. Maybe you have been affected and influenced by them. They might not be as well-known as other men and women who’ve impacted the world, but let me assure you, they are here.  Maybe that is something the afore mentioned actress should’ve taken into consideration before generalizing all Christians. Maybe enough people stood up to her that she’s thought twice about it. Who knows. I am just here to say that as long as I’m living, I will be fighting for the women and children and families and the sick and the jobless and the homeless of this world, because as a daughter of the King, I am called to serve others.

~Bethany