6. Humans And Gender Equality
Society must have balance to survive and develop. Chaos and imbalance inevitably lead to destruction. Human society not only exists and also develops strongly because it obeys that natural law.
No one knows who controls the law of yin and yang balance, but it is clear that there is a higher intelligence that operates beyond our understanding, no matter how much our free will harms this law of balance.
Statistics shows that the number of male children and female children born in the world is always in a relatively balanced state, so that human society can survive.
When people discover mistakes, they will correct them themselves, which is also an act of providence. For example, Chinese society in recent years has applied the law that each family has only one child. With a culture that favors men over women, the problem of far more boys than girls is a disaster, and the nation is in danger of extinction, forcing them to correct it immediately.
Men’s rights and women’s rights have been clearly defined by God since the beginning of time, and must be part of that wise providence.
We will analyze further below to see a little the intelligence of the wonderful plan that God has arranged for us in the journey of life.
1. WOMEN’S ROLE IN SOCIETY
In a married couple, there must be a leader. In a matriarchal system, the woman decides everything. But for the most part, in the East as well as the West, patriarchy has long dominated. If “neither of the couple is the leader”, there will certainly be chaos, decline and destruction.
In hunting and gathering nomadic primitive societies, people raised livestock, moved here and there. Then they cultivated, harvested, using industrial technical machinery. All of these activities required strength.
Especially, in every era, if you want to survive, you have to fight hard with nature and society. War is something that happens all the time.
All require health, courage, and judgment. The main role of men is to direct, lead and protect. Women, with weak limbs and soft arms, play supporting roles, taking care of internal affairs in the house. That is a reasonable assignment.
Furthermore, in addition to muscular strength, nature endows men with the superiority in logical thinking, communication, desire to possess, decisive actions, few emotions, all of which are suitable for affairs in the society, unlike women, who tend to be more verbal, emotional, and introverted.
Today, with changing concepts of social morality, human rights equality, freedom of responsibility and especially technology, the role of physical strength is no longer dominant but instead is replaced by ingenuity, intelligence and resilience … Women contribute more and more to social progress.
Only recently, 2020 was the 100th anniversary of American women voting right. On August 18th, 1920, Amendment No. 19 officially took effect. This 19th Amendment was named Susan Anthony to commemorate Mrs. Susan B. Anthony, a feminist who devoted her life to bringing political rights to American women.
Nearly 60 years later. The Cedaw Convention on Women’s Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18th, 1979, stipulates that women have complete equality with men, prohibiting all forms of gender discrimination in all fields.
Therefore, to achieve full and real equality between men and women, society needs a lot of time, as well as suitable historical and evolutionary contexts of the era.
Jewish society of 2,000 years ago could not have been the same as it is today. Mentalities and many other things have changed, and so has the concept of women’s rights.
2.THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
The Church God established in the middle of the world goes with human history. Women across Asian and European cultures have traditionally had only a dependent role. In other religions as well, all worship is decided and controlled by men.
In the Old Testament, historical events always occurred with the presence of women: Eve next to Adam in the Garden of Eden, was called “mother of living beings”; Sara, Abraham’s wife, was the mother of Isaac and the chosen race; Moses, Aaron and his sister Miriam brought the Jews out of Egypt, etc., but their role was always dependent on and supportive to men.
St. Paul wrote, “A woman must receive instruction silently and under complete control. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man. She must be quiet” (1 Timothy 2:11-12).
In the New Testament, Jesus also only chose men to be his disciples and sent them to preach. But the effective support of women in praying and taking care of logistics is indispensable.
Although there are distinctions in roles, there is always equality between them. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).
This is the image of the ideal woman in the Bible, in Proverbs chapter 31:
“Who can find a woman of worth? Far beyond jewels is her value. Her husband trusts her judgment; he does not lack income. She brings him profit, not loss, all the days of her life” (Proverbs 31:10-12).
- She works hard and raises the family:
“She seeks out wool and flax and weaves with skillful hands. Like a merchant fleet, she secures her provisions from afar. She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household, a portion to her maidservants” (Proverbs 31:13-15).
- She takes care of the housework, business, and family finances:
“She picks out a field and acquires it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength; she exerts her arms with vigor. She enjoys the profit from her dealings; her lamp is never extinguished at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle” (Proverbs 31:16-19).
- She has a kind and responsible heart:
“She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. She is not concerned for her household when it snows – all her charges are doubly clothed. She makes her own coverlets; fine linen and purple are her clothing” (Proverbs 31:20-22).
- She is a domestic minister who brings honor to the family:
“Her husband is prominent at the city gates as he sits with the elders of the land. She makes garments and sells them, and stocks the merchants with belts. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and laughs at the days to come” (Proverbs 31:23-25).
- She is wise and has few words:
“She opens her mouth in wisdom; kindly instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness” (Proverbs 31:26-27).
- She lives in the fear of God and is virtuous:
“Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband, too, praises her: “Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all.” Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:28-30).
Conclusion:
Women are happy to be themselves. The parallel yin and yang is an immutable law of eternity.
Our ancestors often said “Soft strings tie hard” to describe this soft power. Women only feel happy when they are women, and demonstrate superpower in gentleness, softness, and quietness.
In the Church today, there are also movements demanding that women be allowed to do the same work as men.
Please check the reality and do not listen to the words of a few, very few deviant people, calling for liberation and against the oppression of women’s rights. They are violating human dignity, forcing weak-legged and soft-armed women to take on the work of strong, muscular men without distinction.
We are not talking about some individual cases of abuse of power; we need to express insistent attitudes and actions towards both genders.
Depending on each period of time and culture, women are deeply involved in pastoral activities, without limitation. That is a right and a duty.
People are only truly happy when they can express themselves as they are, according to their vocation. Women are only truly happy when they are mothers with all the God-given vocations: being loved, respected, protected, pampered, and taking care of and raising their children and grandchildren.
Gender discrimination is an act of social division and a vast satanic conspiracy to hinder the progress of society and oppose God’s evolutionary program.
Let us understand clearly the roles of men and women, their natural social duty assigments, mutual support in the spirit of equality and respect for the dignity of each gender. “The two of them become one body” (Genesis 2, 24) is what the Bible and God’s will mean in human salvation history.
When the end comes in the kingdom of heaven, there will no longer be any distinction between men and women, as Jesus answered his disciples about life after death: “When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven” (Mark 12:25).
The movement to promote women’s rights is often just a ploy for some people to take advantage of.