THE  RIGHT  TO  EQUALITY

A  CHALLENGE  TO  MEN

Just recently something happened in a certain country that made me feel both intense sadness and extreme anger.  A 13-year-old girl (though it was first reported as a woman in her 20’s) was raped by several men and then accused of committing adultery.  Her punishment for this?  Being buried alive up to her neck and stoned to death for a trumped-up crime of which she was totally innocent.  And, what about the men who carried out this vicious attack? . . .  the men who were the wicked perpetrators of this crime?  Nothing!  They were “provoked”!!!  They went free!  Free to move onto the next innocent victim to commit the same crime again.

In many parts of the world women are treated as second-class citizens who have no voice to protect their own rights.  Why is it that so many people-groups treat their women in such a degrading manner?  What gives men of this persuasion the right to live and act as if they are superior to women? 

The greatest Man to live on this earth, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, had only respect, kindness and compassion for the opposite sex.  He certainly didn’t treat them as being of a lower class than Himself.  In fact some of His closest followers were women, who saw in Him a quality of excellence that exhibited no bias or prejudice toward them in any form whatsoever.  Jesus was a role model, the perfect example of demonstrating the right to equality.

Whether one is single or married, it makes no difference to the way we should treat the opposite gender.  

Even some Christians interpret Scripture to appear as if man is above woman, quoting, “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the Church . . . And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the Church submits itself to Christ” (Ephesians 5:22-24).

But if we read verse 21, we see that we are to “submit ourselves to one another, out of reverence to Christ.”  Then, if we continue on and read the following verses, it all comes together to present a fuller picture . . .

“Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the Church and gave His life for it. Men ought to love their wives just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself. (None of us ever hate our own bodies. Instead, we feed them, and take care of them, just as Christ does the Church” (verses 25, 28, 29).

The truth is that women will willingly submit to the leadership, protection and covering of their husbands if they are loved, cherished and respected.  To love a woman does not mean to treat her as a chattel, a slave, a prisoner in her own home, or a created being of lower degree than the male.  One of the fruits of love is trust.  When a husband and wife truly love each other, they should be able to trust one another, both inside and outside the home environment.

Jesus makes it plain that in order for mankind to function at the level we were created to function, both man and woman must have respect one for the other – it is not a “one-way street”.  

My heart becomes grieved as I hear of countless women who are regarded and treated as being inferior to, and lower than men, and in some cases, even lower than animals.  Again, I ask the question, What gives men of this persuasion the right to live and act as if they are superior to women? 

If, for a moment you tried walking a mile in their shoes, if you felt compassion and took time to consider the positive results that would come from treating a woman as an equal, could you be challenged to re-program your way of thinking?  Men, you certainly love your own body and pamper its every need but what about that of your wife and/or other women?  Their needs are just as important as yours.  Their rights are just as valid as yours.  Their bodies function just as miraculously as yours.  Their blood does exactly the same task as yours.  So, why the difference?  The man cannot function without the woman, and neither can the woman function without the man. 

Let me conclude with verse 31, As the Scripture says, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one."

How can we “become one” if one partner in the marriage is treated beneath and lower than the other partner?  It is then not a marriage but a master/slave contract.  And, if you are single, the etiquette is still the same.  It is only as men honour, love and respect the opposite sex that there will be true harmony in the relationships between male and female.  When men treat women with equality, it allows the women to become secure in the fact of who she is - a human being with the right to equality – and, from that secure position, she too can then honour, love and respect those of the opposite gender.

Three cheers for HONOUR, LOVE, RESPECT, HARMONY and THE RIGHT TO EQUALITY!