THE ROLE OF THE WOMAN

THE ROLE OF THE WOMAN

 

Genesis 2:21-24, "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Woman was not taken from man's head to lord over him, nor from his heel to be crushed by him, but this she was taken from his rib or side, near his heart, so she could be loved and protected by him. The Lord chose to compare a family with the Holy Trinity. In so doing, He called the head of the family, the father or man, after God’s own name and person, and by process of elimination, the mother or woman represented the Holy Spirit of God within the family. Her job is different from that of the father. She comforts, teaches instructs and leads. You see it is the Holy Spirit that leads and guides us into truth and into the presence of the living God. The attitude and presence of a godly mother can do that same thing. For she leads her family by her actions, her gentle and forgiving spirit, her compassion and hard work. She behaves by pointing others to God instead of herself. Think of all the things that the Holy Spirit does and that is exactly what her responsibilities are in the family. She is often the unseen one. The one who gives the others attention and her desires are to honor her family. She can even determine the spirit and the atmosphere of any place she may go. Adam desired a communion with a kindred soul, one whose wants and joys were like his own, that of which the gentle kindness and compassion of the animals around him could not provide. While Adam worked hard in the garden before Eve came, he worked even harder after she got there. Eve's job was to assist him and be his helpmate.

While the role of the woman is not over her husband, she does have authority in her home to rule and govern. While it is oftentimes a very difficult task, it is a most worthy one. Titus 2 teaches that a women is to be revered in the way she lives, by loving her husband, being self-controlled, not to slander or be addicted to wine and be the keeper of her home and that she should teach it to other mothers. That job entails meeting the needs of her family and while both parents share in that responsibility, the mother is the guardian of the home. It is her spirit that determines or sets the mood for the home. I like to call her the Cheerleader of the home. Her job is to build up her family while viewing her submission, “as unto the Lord”. When women understand and view their submission to be submitting to God and not an unruly, un-caring, or un-concerned mate, then, they are able to bear their submission and not be so bitter nor hard.

A verse that has always guided me in my own quest in submission is found in 1 Peter 2:13…it says, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority…”, When we begin to view everything from the point of obedience to God, our perspective changes and falls into place with God’s perspective and our very lives are touched and changed by our mere obedience to what God says that we should do.

A wife is responsible for both the physical and emotional needs of her husband. She loves him because he first loves her and gives himself for her. When he fails to do that, she is still responsible to God as to how she responds to a husband who is not properly leading his family. She is to win her husband the same way the husband is to win his wife, through love, a gentle spirit and the way that they walk in Christ.