Male and Female He Created Them

I remember the first time I heard the concept of sharing pronouns.  I was in college when I first heard people discussing this.  It was at this point in time that I realized just how lost and confused our society was.  Now, it is on a regular basis that I see lists of pronouns in people’s email signatures and social media bios.  It is something people do because they want to be seen as tolerant and affirming of this practice.  Our culture is under the impression that people can pick “preferred pronouns.”  As time goes on, the truth continues to be under attack.  When people reject who they are as a male or female, they reject God and the beauty of who He created them to be.

Our world is trying to erase gender and say that it does not matter.  However, it does matter, a lot.  Men and women are different.  We have different traits, abilities, personalities, and strengths.  Both men and women reflect God and His love in different ways.  We each have unique gifts that need to be valued.  Although men and women were created different in many ways, they complement one another.  God’s creation and plans for humanity are perfect and when people attempt to mix things up, it does not go well.  God’s plans go from beautiful to broken.

Masculinity and femininity are beautiful gifts from God.  Many fail to see and understand this.  For quite some time now, there has been a loud and overwhelming movement and voice in our culture that says masculinity is toxic.  This could not be further from the truth.  The issue at hand is actually the lack of authentic masculinity in our society.  Men are called to imitate Jesus Christ, the greatest example of masculinity there is.  He loved others deeply and made sacrifices daily.  He respected all, recognizing their dignity, and protected others, especially women, at all costs.  He was not afraid to be vulnerable, sharing His emotions openly.  When men rise up and strive to live the way God created them to, they offer the rest of the world gifts that are different from women.

The modern feminist movement has become dangerous and destructive.  Those who claim to be for “women’s rights” stand for everything that is contrary to women.  For a movement that claims to support and be for women, they promote the opposite.  They belittle and condemn men while, at the same time, saying they want to be exactly like them, erasing any differences that exist.  With the modern feminist movement, we have seen the value and true gift of femininity being erased with things such as contraception, abortion, vulgarity, and tantrums.  These things are about as anti-women as you can get.  Mary is the perfect model of authentic femininity, who women are called to imitate.  Last summer, I read a book called The Anti-Mary Exposed: Rescuing the Culture from Toxic Femininity by Carrie Gress.  It was a well-written book that really dives into femininity on a deep level.  In it, Gress says, “Mary knew the truth about herself: that everything she had, everything she was, and everything she would ever do was because of the gifts offered to her by her Father, her Creator. She not only knew the truth about herself—which has made her the humblest woman to ever live—but she also knew the truth about God, who he is, especially as Father and Creator.  She surrendered every piece of herself to God the Father as a beloved daughter.”  When women strive to walk in the footsteps of Mary, they offer the world gifts that are different from men.

​We live in a time when our society says gender is “fluid.”  It is a time when people believe one can choose whether to be male or female based on how they feel, reducing gender to a surgery and a clothing change.  As Christians, we need to recognize the dignity of every single person, including those who are struggling with who they are.  We need to continue to share the love of God and help others know that the way they were created is not a mistake.  “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)  It is this simple truth that we must not tire of speaking of with love.