Sibling to the prodigal son

The parable of the wayward son (also known as the parable of the prodigal son) is one most reviewers of scripture are familiar with, wherein a young man has a single sibling, tells his father he wishes all that is his due, leaves the farm for the greener side of the fence, has his eyes opened to the true nature of the world, and returns home, aware of how good he had it and how loved he was.

Let me, instead, point your eyes to the other offspring, our not-front-stage-other-main character. Here is a child who was faithful to father, who stayed at home, who worked the land and did the chores bidden of them, and was sitting in the home to which the prodigal son returned. And this is the same child that felt unappreciated when the father broke into song and dance at the arrival of his younger child. I believe this relationship between siblings is comparable to the relationship men have with women, in particular the difference in responsibilities and authorities between first-born sons and first-born daughters.

I believe that men are called, and should be trained, to be an edifying version of the prodigal son - to be as ready to be in the world (but not of the world) as possible, then strike out. They should be trained to lead in a productive manner, one of the most difficult lessons known to anyone, and to do so with grace. Through that training they gain a practical awareness of just how unbalanced and wicked the world is, and through those trials discover the character traits their father trained them up in, and when they return 'home', it is the home they built for the purpose of marriage. Thus, a newly married man can come home in a way far more profoundly than a single man can. So we have men as iterations of the prodigal son.

I believe that women are called, and should be trained, to be an edifying version of the older sibling - to be as ready to serve in the home as possible, then married out. They should be trained to wait in a productive manner, one of the most difficult lessons known to anyone, and to do so with grace. Through that training they gain a practical awareness of how unbalanced and wicked the world is from the protective confines of the home, and through the efforts at home discover the character traits their mother trained them up in, and when their prodigal son returns home, it is the home built for the purpose of marriage. Thus, a newly married woman can be home in a way far more profoundly than a single woman. So we have women as iterations of the faithful sibling.

There are dangers for each gender, though - the predominant danger of each is to identify too well with the other gender's roles.

I believe men can be led astray by being trained (through false modeling or poor personal habits) into believing that the path they should travel is that of the woman's - where staying at home is the most effective use of their talents. You see many examples of this in popular culture, whether it’s the stay-at-home thirty year olds (who have become a kind of American parable) or the professional gamer who "works" out of parent's basement. The result is a land that cries out for a leader and gets instead someone who visits the skirt and soups of his mother, has been trained to follow when he should be leading, and often will be responsive to events instead instigators. In this way spiritual death can enter the body of Jesus.

I believe women can be led astray by being trained (through false modeling or poor personal habits) into believing that the path they should travel is that of the man's - where leaving home is the most effective use of their talents. You see examples of this too in popular culture, whether its women who leave home to get away from abusive parents or women who leave home because they don't feel loved (sometimes motivated by latching onto some random boy the girl fell in love with). The result is a land that cries out for a healer and steadfast proponent of faithful support and instead gets a rebel who yearns to run free. In this way spiritual death can enter the body of Jesus.

Today's call to action:

Recognize what role you should be playing

One of the most effective ways to inhibit the body of Jesus Christ is if members of that body don't seek God's guidance as to what they should be doing in their various stations. The result is often members that don't work together as effectively as they might, who are easily irritable, who don't have the peace that passes understanding, and into whose relationship strife can easily work itself.

Your challenge is simple:

Pray to God to reveal your daily bread

If we remember from Revelation that John was given a scroll to eat, the result of which was him absorbing some biblical principles and events literally, and we come to that table knowing that bread is assumed to be a food-stuff, we can extend that to understand that today's 'daily bread' can be something other than food - it can be those aspects of scripture we are called to understand and absorb, it can be that aspect of our walk we are finally called to understand, and it can be that aspect of our day that we are finally called to act upon.

So pray to have revealed what God has for you today and remember don't hesitate - go boldly before that throne of grace!

Uniquely Suited to Complement; not Compete

One of the issues I've had to contend with in the Bible is the role of women.

Now, before I am decried as a feminist and alpha female (which I'm not), let me explain where I'm coming from. Throughout the Bible, I have noticed God's penchant to put men in a position of authority and leadership... not the woman. Additionally, there are many verses which apply to firstborns being specially chosen by God, but they tend to be male firstborns... and that's a completely different subject which I may or may not ever get into.

The motif I'm trying to get at here is my initial responses to God's choice of men over women for authority and leadership purposes and the consequent delineation between men and women's roles. To be perfectly clear, I don't believe this elevation of man to his rightful position of authority is unjust or a denigration of women by God; in fact, I believe God has a very high opinion and respect of women throughout the Bible as can be noted from the responsibilities He has placed on the women.

A woman's responsibilities may not seem as important or as demanding or as stressful as a man's responsibilities, but I would argue that the woman often has a harder lot in life then the man if she is to do things according to God's standards.

The argument by women in today's society is that men don't do anything so they must. This has led to a militant force of women sweeping the globe and infiltrating even the most discriminatory fields and areas of life, business, military, etc. Since man is not being a man, woman must fill his place. Women complain about how men lack initiative, drive, focus, responsibility; how they live their lives in complacency, seemingly spineless, lackluster creatures - which drives the woman insane.

Women have a tendency to see something that needs to be done or a problem that needs to be solved and if the man doesn't do it, obviously the woman must. It is here that women make the most terrible mistake of all; the mistake of impatience and usurpation of the man's role in society.

God made men to be leaders and to be the heads of whatever body they are leading. Their rule begins with their family and moves up from there: work groups, companies, governments, states, countries. The man has been uniquely equipped to rule and to be in command. However, their ability to be men seems directly linked to the amount of respect, honor, and deference women show to them.

Men need to be given a chance to be the leaders they were created to be.

And this is where the woman must realize when to step aside. It may take the man longer to realize what the problem is, it may take him longer to take any action. If a woman immediately throws herself into the problem and attempts to solve it herself, she removes the necessity for the man to do anything at all. Because of the intensity that arises from a woman trying to do a man's work, it is often more convenient for the man just to stay out of the way.

Result: a society of women who are frazzled beyond all belief as they try to juggle their responsibilities as mother and homemaker with the man's responsibilities of leadership and provision. On the other side is a society of men whose masculinity has been trampled by a stampede of high heels and a flurry of impatience and disrespect, leading them to a life as a target of disdain and disgust - why bother?

It is my belief that if women would stand down and suppress the frequently overwhelming desire to DO something, men would move forward to fill the gaps. If women would stop despising men and focusing on what they don't do and start showing respect and deference for the laudable things they DO do, men would blossom and begin to reclaim their manhood. If women would expect men to be men and to take charge and not only wait for them to do so, but encourage them as they moved toward that goal, the blood of manhood would once again run through their veins.

I believe women have a much more difficult role in life... we are to be supportive and respectful.

This can be one of the hardest things a woman can ever do; to stand back and wait for the man to fill the gap he was uniquely created to fill. This is not a wimpy role, it does not detract from womanhood to do this. In fact, I believe it will elevate men's opinion of woman and instead of seeing and treating her as a poorly-behaved man, he will begin to see and treat her as a woman - completely different from him, yet uniquely suited to complement, not compete, with him throughout life.

It is time for women to stand down and allow men to stand up... they will if we let them.