Life is so fast paced nowadays,
before you comprehend the fundamental principle of a trend, a phase is gone and
another is midway. But how can we sustain sound judgment when life is moving at
jet speed engaging us in full time comprehension occupation?
Women on the Rise
For instance, we hear of women
empowerment all over. Have you ever been curious to find out the facts behind
empowerment of Eves? I hope you have; but a good number of people especially
women (no offense), jump into the wagon without establishing the objectives of
this noble cause. And because they don’t build the cause on its foundation they
go to extremes resulting in massive outcry from the male population.
Misinformation about the cause has
led to poor reception of women empowerment by the opposite gender and society
in general. An empowered woman is perceived as a threat to man’s dominion
rather than an enriching complement. Some men feel their God given position is
under threat for they equally don’t understand the objective of empowering
women. As a result the society has stopped being a secure home for humanity but
has turned into a battle field of the sexes. Unfortunately, these battles are
more of psychological than physical and the family unit has been left with chronic wounds to nurse.
Head of Family
Both men and women need to establish
the foundations and build on them. First, men must take their positions as
heads of families but stick to boundaries. The actual boundaries and roles were
clearly modeled by Christ. Paul in a letter to Ephesians instructed men to be
heads of their families as Christ is the head of church. Therefore, all men
should emulate Christ in their headship role.
Lack of proper understanding of the
role of a head and misinterpretation of head to mean master causes some men to
overstep their boundaries. Ego blinds them so much they fail to realize they’re
hurting those under their headship.
For a long period of time majority
of women suffered in silence. The ‘insecurity motivated’ oppression was pulling
the society down in terms of progress and there was a dire need to resolve the
situation. This led to advocacy of women empowerment to secure women’s rights
and position in the society as well as tap into the underutilized human
resource to enhance social, political and economic growth.
The present crisis ballooning as a
result of women empowerment is simply culture shock, and needs urgent
management to bring back sanity in the society. And the sure way of achieving
this is by seeking to understand the foundations and benchmark our way of life
against them.
Man’s Role as the Head of the Family
As I indicated earlier, man’s role
was modeled by Christ as the head of church. Below are some five qualities that
men can learn from Christ;
- Love. This was the major quality of a head modeled by Christ; the climax being his death on the cross. Christ’s love for the church is eternal. He loved the church before she knew him and he continues to love her whether she pleases him or not.
- Pardons wrongs and does not condemn. One of the main objectives of Christ’s death on the cross was forgiveness of sins. By dying on the cross close to two thousand years ago, he paid church’s debt of sin once and for all. Christ therefore does not condemn the church when she does wrong but has already pardoned her well in advance.
- Instructs but does not impose his will. Christ has laid down instructions for the church to follow. (Note: these instructions do not serve Christ’s own interests but are in the interest of the church.) It’s up to the church to follow them out of her own free will. Furthermore, he does not come wielding a rod to punish the church whenever she goes contrary to the instructions but he draws her back to himself by his love.
- Understanding – Christ understands humans are weak, and he confirmed this by saying, his power is made perfect in weakness. He therefore doesn’t take advantage of his bride’s weakness but complements her by availing his power to perfect her weakness.
- Servant leadership – Christ never wore his title as a way of proving he was in charge but instead he led in humility and lived to serve.
I can go on and on highlighting the
qualities of Christ as head of church, which are admirable and lovable; but the
question is has man emulated Christ in his role as the head of the family? I
hope so.
I know men will be quick to put
‘buts’. Well, that might be the case, but should never be the case. Christ
plays his role unconditionally, inspired by his unconditional eternal love for
humanity. Now, he tells men to emulate him in their role as heads of their
families.
Heads of Families! unconditional love is a catch, if you’re in doubt, ask the
church. Unconditional love attracts surrender and reverence. I am not laying
down rules here, but in obedience to Christ play your role right without
expecting anything in return. Society needs healing and the healing has to
begin from the root which is family. Take the lead in strengthening your family
through love not laws.
Women Empowerment
Once we have the men playing their roles as they ought to;
next is to understand the goals of women empowerment. Women empowerment seeks
to enhance development of women in every aspect of life, be it economic, social
or political. It also advocates for equality of both genders as equal partakers
in life just as God designed it. In addition, it protects women from being
victimized in any way being the weaker gender. Women empowerment is not an
attack on the male gender but seeks to provide an environment where all people
can co-exist together peacefully and where all humans are respected and their
human rights are protected regardless of their gender.
Conclusion
Adhering to foundations will produce happy families full of
love and respect for one another, leading fulfilled and purposeful lives. And
again, a home with an empowered woman means an extra source of family income
hence more financial success as an icing on the cake.
Lastly, as we strive to keep up with the pace at which life
is evolving let our judgment always be informed by foundational principles.
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