I am super inspired today. This woman (Dr. Rev. Tam) came to my church to preach about the role of women and why we were created. Her sermon and discussion afterward really spoke to me because for the longest time, I have been struggling about my identity as a female and wrestled with why God made me one. I always wanted to be a boy. Before you start thinking that I've gone crazy and that I'm a weirdo, please read me out.
Since the fall of mankind (from God's perfect garden of Eden), men have always had some sort of dominant role over women. Over time, society has ingrained in us that women are inferior to men, and have no place of authority or power. We weren't allowed to work, we were seen as lowly creatures, even inferior to dogs. It was only recently (relatively speaking), that women have started to gain some sort of respect from men and begun to realize that we are not worthless creatures that serve only to please men. Instead, we were also made in God's image, at the same time as men were (Genesis 1:27), equally given the role to name animals and dominate the Earth and rule over the animals (Genesis 1:28).
Then things get interesting when Adam and Eve sin. In Genesis 3:5, Satan is speaking to Eve (who, by nature, is better at communicating between her and Adam) when he says, "For God knows that when you eat of [the forbidden fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil". So why did Eve eat the fruit? Because she wanted to be like God. Life in the garden of Eden was good and peaceful. Adam and Eve only knew of God's love, and of the good things that existed. They had no concept of death, or punishment. This was the perfect trap Satan had set up for Adam and Eve. He knew what they didn't know, and took advantage of the fact that they wanted to be like God (since they loved Him so much).
So why do people blame Eve (and all women) for being the root of all evil, or the one responsible for the pain and suffering (separation from Christ, not being able to live with God) that the rest of us have to endure? Because they only see that Eve was talking to Satan. Because she ate the fruit first. But if we look carefully at Genesis 3:6, it says that, "[...] she took [the fruit] and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it". So Adam was there the whole time. He heard the whole dialogue between Satan and Eve, heard Eve being tempted - and he didn't say anything! He didn't tell Satan to go away, or protect Eve from him. He just let them be, and he took the fruit and ate it too, because he also wanted to be like God, whom he loved. But there's more... in verse 7 it says, "Then the eyes of both of them were opened". This was after both Adam and Eve ate the fruit. They were so in tune with each other that they had to sin together for anything to happen. Nothing happened after Eve alone ate the fruit. Their eyes were opened at the same time, right after Adam ate it too.
So from this in depth analysis that Dr. Rev. Tam explained today, it shows that men and women were both equally responsible for the fall of mankind, and that we are both equally responsible for ruling over the animals of the earth and have a significant purpose in life. This was the first sermon out of six, in this series of discovering women's roles. She's going to go through some controversial verses and explain them in her perspective, as well as looking into the roles of women in the Bible. I am really interested and can't wait to hear more.
I spoke with her today, after our group discussion, and that's when I realized how much God was speaking to me through her. I realized that for my whole life, I had been either wishing that I had been born a boy, wondering and questioning God why He made me the way He had chosen to, and trying to fight against the societal "norms" of how women should behave. I wanted to be able to do things and prove that I was capable of doing things that boys were able to do. I enjoyed playing sports like hockey, and wanted to learn how to fight. I also found myself to be really interested in hobbies that men were more dominant in, like fixing and building things. I even took courses like architecture, tech, and learned to fix cars. I'm in engineering.
All of these things were things that I loved, and were interested in, but part of me wanted to do it also because I wanted to prove to the world that women could be just as capable. I had wondered for ages if I what I wanted to do was really what God had planned for me. Maybe I was supposed to be a boy but something went wrong when I came out? But as much as I thought I was supposed to be a boy, and tried to act like one, everyone around me still treated me like a girl. And they were right to do so, because I was one. I just didn't really want to believe it. It's kind of sad, now that I think about it. That I didn't want to be who God made me to be, and tried to be somebody else. Why would I do that. I was so caught up and believed the things that the world was telling me - that girls couldn't wrestle and become engineers, that I didn't see the truth. I didn't see what God was trying to tell me this whole time - that He loves me and made me exactly the way He wanted me to be.
He made me stubborn and knew that I could be strong, if only I looked to Him. He knew that I was worth something, in this patriotic society. God made me a female and planned for me to be in engineering. He has been and still is shaping me, through every experience. I am slowly lifting the curtain that Satan has put up from my eyes and really seeing exactly what God had intended. Satan keeps trying to stop me. He keeps trying to make me feel unworthy, like I am nothing. He keeps trying to hinder me so that I am unable to do God's work and really fulfill my role and purpose on Earth. I can't believe I bought into it for all these years, but I am glad that God has shown me, after all my experiences; that I am female and there's nothing to be ashamed of. He has shown me that I don't need to be capable. I just need to be willing and God will be my strength. I need to embrace who I am and who God made me to be in order to fully participate in this great mission God has included me in.
Anyway, I know that this is a controversial topic; the outlook on women in leadership and their role in the kingdom, but I hope you can understand from my experience where I am coming from and why I believe the things I do. God has really been speaking to me and this was just one of the really big things that I've come to learn and realize. Today's talk with this woman really inspired me to want to empower other women around me who may share similar feelings as I do - about our worth in terms of how men treat us and how society views us. I think after really digesting what this woman has said to me and what God has been trying to show me, I feel so much more free. I don't feel bound by societal norms, and know that I shouldn't be influenced by how other people think or feel I should behave. I can't go on doing God's work if I don't believe that I'm worth something, because that would mean that my God doesn't love and value me like He claims to. It's just too fundamental a thing to not believe - that women are equally responsible for leading others to Christ, and that women are equally valued as men are in God's eyes.
Check out these two songs:
All I Need is You - Hillsong
A Woman's Worth - Alicia Keys
Read Acts 17 & 18 today!
Since the fall of mankind (from God's perfect garden of Eden), men have always had some sort of dominant role over women. Over time, society has ingrained in us that women are inferior to men, and have no place of authority or power. We weren't allowed to work, we were seen as lowly creatures, even inferior to dogs. It was only recently (relatively speaking), that women have started to gain some sort of respect from men and begun to realize that we are not worthless creatures that serve only to please men. Instead, we were also made in God's image, at the same time as men were (Genesis 1:27), equally given the role to name animals and dominate the Earth and rule over the animals (Genesis 1:28).
Then things get interesting when Adam and Eve sin. In Genesis 3:5, Satan is speaking to Eve (who, by nature, is better at communicating between her and Adam) when he says, "For God knows that when you eat of [the forbidden fruit] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil". So why did Eve eat the fruit? Because she wanted to be like God. Life in the garden of Eden was good and peaceful. Adam and Eve only knew of God's love, and of the good things that existed. They had no concept of death, or punishment. This was the perfect trap Satan had set up for Adam and Eve. He knew what they didn't know, and took advantage of the fact that they wanted to be like God (since they loved Him so much).
So why do people blame Eve (and all women) for being the root of all evil, or the one responsible for the pain and suffering (separation from Christ, not being able to live with God) that the rest of us have to endure? Because they only see that Eve was talking to Satan. Because she ate the fruit first. But if we look carefully at Genesis 3:6, it says that, "[...] she took [the fruit] and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it". So Adam was there the whole time. He heard the whole dialogue between Satan and Eve, heard Eve being tempted - and he didn't say anything! He didn't tell Satan to go away, or protect Eve from him. He just let them be, and he took the fruit and ate it too, because he also wanted to be like God, whom he loved. But there's more... in verse 7 it says, "Then the eyes of both of them were opened". This was after both Adam and Eve ate the fruit. They were so in tune with each other that they had to sin together for anything to happen. Nothing happened after Eve alone ate the fruit. Their eyes were opened at the same time, right after Adam ate it too.
So from this in depth analysis that Dr. Rev. Tam explained today, it shows that men and women were both equally responsible for the fall of mankind, and that we are both equally responsible for ruling over the animals of the earth and have a significant purpose in life. This was the first sermon out of six, in this series of discovering women's roles. She's going to go through some controversial verses and explain them in her perspective, as well as looking into the roles of women in the Bible. I am really interested and can't wait to hear more.
I spoke with her today, after our group discussion, and that's when I realized how much God was speaking to me through her. I realized that for my whole life, I had been either wishing that I had been born a boy, wondering and questioning God why He made me the way He had chosen to, and trying to fight against the societal "norms" of how women should behave. I wanted to be able to do things and prove that I was capable of doing things that boys were able to do. I enjoyed playing sports like hockey, and wanted to learn how to fight. I also found myself to be really interested in hobbies that men were more dominant in, like fixing and building things. I even took courses like architecture, tech, and learned to fix cars. I'm in engineering.
All of these things were things that I loved, and were interested in, but part of me wanted to do it also because I wanted to prove to the world that women could be just as capable. I had wondered for ages if I what I wanted to do was really what God had planned for me. Maybe I was supposed to be a boy but something went wrong when I came out? But as much as I thought I was supposed to be a boy, and tried to act like one, everyone around me still treated me like a girl. And they were right to do so, because I was one. I just didn't really want to believe it. It's kind of sad, now that I think about it. That I didn't want to be who God made me to be, and tried to be somebody else. Why would I do that. I was so caught up and believed the things that the world was telling me - that girls couldn't wrestle and become engineers, that I didn't see the truth. I didn't see what God was trying to tell me this whole time - that He loves me and made me exactly the way He wanted me to be.
He made me stubborn and knew that I could be strong, if only I looked to Him. He knew that I was worth something, in this patriotic society. God made me a female and planned for me to be in engineering. He has been and still is shaping me, through every experience. I am slowly lifting the curtain that Satan has put up from my eyes and really seeing exactly what God had intended. Satan keeps trying to stop me. He keeps trying to make me feel unworthy, like I am nothing. He keeps trying to hinder me so that I am unable to do God's work and really fulfill my role and purpose on Earth. I can't believe I bought into it for all these years, but I am glad that God has shown me, after all my experiences; that I am female and there's nothing to be ashamed of. He has shown me that I don't need to be capable. I just need to be willing and God will be my strength. I need to embrace who I am and who God made me to be in order to fully participate in this great mission God has included me in.
Anyway, I know that this is a controversial topic; the outlook on women in leadership and their role in the kingdom, but I hope you can understand from my experience where I am coming from and why I believe the things I do. God has really been speaking to me and this was just one of the really big things that I've come to learn and realize. Today's talk with this woman really inspired me to want to empower other women around me who may share similar feelings as I do - about our worth in terms of how men treat us and how society views us. I think after really digesting what this woman has said to me and what God has been trying to show me, I feel so much more free. I don't feel bound by societal norms, and know that I shouldn't be influenced by how other people think or feel I should behave. I can't go on doing God's work if I don't believe that I'm worth something, because that would mean that my God doesn't love and value me like He claims to. It's just too fundamental a thing to not believe - that women are equally responsible for leading others to Christ, and that women are equally valued as men are in God's eyes.
Check out these two songs:
All I Need is You - Hillsong
A Woman's Worth - Alicia Keys
Read Acts 17 & 18 today!
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