I often talk with women who struggle with feeling that women are somehow less valuable to God then men. Through the centuries, women have lived under the burden of misbelief that Eve’s sin condemns her daughters to a position of disgrace, silence and lesser value. Even today within the Body of Christ, the inaccurate, but very prevalent belief that Eve was cursed by God permits domination, abuse and the silencing of Godly, gifted women within the church.
Genesis says when sin came into God’s perfect world, God cursed the serpent, then told Adam that his disobedience bound the soil to the inevitable curse of decay and malfunction always linked with sin. God did not curse His beloved male and female humankind. He sorrowfully told them their choices placed them under the deadly consequences of sin. These consequences included (Genesis 3:14-19).
: the battle to earn a living through frustrating toil and sweat an ongoing power struggle between men and women the painful sorrow of watching their children grow up in a sin-contaminated world
Jesus’ earthly life clearly showed that every male and female of every ethnic background, age and economic scale are equal. When we kneel at the Cross, recognition of that equality must become a daily part of life. Galatians 3:27-28: “As many of you as are baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free; there is not male and female: you are all one in Christ.” God has no favorites. The sinful, fleshly desire to dominate gives birth to prejudices and the devaluation of another person because of gender, skin color, language or age.
In Luke 10:1-3, Jesus appointed 70 “others” of His followers to go into the harvest field of lost humanity. He cried out, “The workers are few! Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers!” It’s ludicrous to think Jesus would only accept male volunteers, either then or now. Jesus never treated women as less gifted, spiritual or accepted than men.
When Jesus launched His public ministry, Salome, the mother of James and John; Joanna, the wife of Herod’s household manager; Susanna, Mary Magdalene and other women became Jesus’ disciples, traveling with the others and learning how to minister alongside with Jesus as they gave from their personal financial means (Luke 8:1). Mary, sister of Lazarus, “sat at the feet of Jesus” (Luke 10:39). This is a phrase commonly used to describe a disciple; one who follows and learns from a teacher. These same words describe the Gadarene man who was delivered from a “legion” of demons (Luke 8:26-35). He was sent by Jesus back to his hometown to “tell all that God has done for you” (Luke 8:39) On Resurrection morning, Mary Magdalene was the first to arrive at the open tomb and to proclaim to the other disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead. The women who mourned His death had the first joyous privilege of announcing His Resurrection.
media use, says Tom Cooper, PhD, author of How to Clear Your Mind and Invigorate Your Life in an Age of Media Overload. “Your family will become closer, you’ll save time, sleep better, feel healthier, and probably even lose weight.”
If technology is adversely affecting communication in your family, a media journal is a good place to begin reducing screen time. Dieters track food consumption to know what and where to cut back. Beginning a family media diet by tracking usage can be quite an eye-opener. We’re often unaware how much time we spend on the internet, TV, and texting. Keeping a record of when a device being used and for how long, will give each one a better idea of how time is being spent. After logging for five days, decide as a family how you can spend more time engaging without screens.
Call 580-774-2884 to learn how to reduce technology-time, giving you more time to enjoy God and people.
