A Biblical Way To View Women
Dear Champions,
The short excerpt is by Andy Stanley, and the Scripture is 1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
In children's stories it always ends when the right people meet each other, and they live happily ever after. That's the childhood way of thinking about relationships. It's not only about finding the right person, but it's also about becoming the right person. Men, I want to talk with you about a biblical way to view women. In our culture women are viewed, talked and sung about like a commodity. A commodity is something I use, so when I'm done using it I'm going to trade it in or sell it or move on to a different commodity. In our culture every single day we get this message. The message for women is, "Take me, use me, do whatever you want to with me, and then trade me in for another one." Consequently, we've got a bunch of men who think like little boys, and they think that women are commodities.
In the first century women weren't simply viewed and treated like a commodity, they were a commodity. Prostitution was legal and encouraged. Men in the Roman and Greek world owned slaves. The richer that you were the more slaves that you owned and the more female slaves that you owned. You could do with a female slave anything that you wanted including selling her or have her put to death. There was an epidemic of mistreatment of women. They had no status or voice, and even women in wealthy households were only a step or two above a slave. In Roman culture you could only have one wife, but they had many mistresses.
Into this world Jesus and his followers spoke. In the Christian communities the status of women were elevated. Women flocked to these little churches because they were viewed a completely different way. Jesus said in John 13:34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. This includes women! Peter walked up one day and saw Jesus speaking to a Samaritan woman alone, and all of the disciples were shocked because men didn't talk to women because they were considered non people. Jesus died for the women as well as the men. Be careful how you treat them.
Champions, have a great week!-David Vining
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