This book "The Hiding Place" made me recognize something today. There was a moment in the book when Corrie realized her sister was sad for the Nazis because they only knew how to hate; she did not hate them in return! Not only did she not hate them, she anticipated the opportunity to share the Love of God with them so they could heal and know how to love. That kind of forgiveness just out right astonishing if you ask me.
So today an old buried piece of hate in my heart got dug up in a "growth opportunity" today. Without going into detail about how it got dug up... though these type things get dug up in interaction with other people.
The society we live in makes me angry to no end, in the specific area of feminism and chauvinism. Yep, I'm totally going there. This is not how Christ views us at all!! He views us as people and yes as people who by gender have different functions, but no one is less than the other. These -isms that I mentioned before, they DO see gender differently and they each think that their own gender is superior. What a crock!
What's interesting to note is that chauvinists hate feminists, but little do they realize their taunting jabs feed feminism and make it grow! For the chauvinist wants a woman/ wife who will be his maid and mistress alone and he sees little other value in her... this enrages the feminist to prove that she can do anything he can do and do it better. I am no feminist, for the complete feminist looks down on the woman who has the choice to work or be at home with her children & chooses her family, belittling her. You'd think that it was not the case, but it is. Why can't we be happy we have the right to vote and the right to work for a paycheck or work with our children & husband... and be happy for each other no matter what we choose. AND at the same time feminists look down on the stay at home mom, a chauvinist comes and makes a comment in jest that sounds like a woman's worth is lowly because what a woman should be doing is only in the home. It's all cyclical and it enrages me. I do think that women should have the right to vote, and the right to enlist in the military, the equal right to get whatever job she's passionate about & receive equal pay, AND the right to stay home full time!! Any choice she makes should not be looked down on. WHY is there this problem? And not only are these -isms an attack on femininity as God sees it, they are also an attack on Godly masculinity. I was enraged to the point of tears today. Of course tears makes people think that you're hurt and you've taken something personally... but let me tell you, if I get so angry I cry... it. is. not. good. Today was the first time that has happened in probably 15 years-- anger to the point of crying. wow. I did not see that one coming.
When I got home I realized that this altercation made a big fat chunk of hate rise up in me. I used to hate men. I hated them because so many of the men I had met were indeed chauvinistic and had no authentic relational use for women. For so long the Lord has given me great friends and I've seen so many great men who obviously love their wives on a deep relational level and that part of their relationship is the most important thing for them. I'd forgotten that some are just not that way.
It doesn't matter how much this stuff is seemingly obviously faulty; to keep the Love of God growing in my heart, forgiveness is necessary... And like Betsie ten Boom loved people who caused harm to so many, so will I. I choose to love as God loves, that doesn't make these -isms less wrong, but it keeps me out of a huge spiritual pit. As I choose this Love, I also recognize God's power to heal the hearts of men and women to the point that we see each other as Jesus does. And as the Lord removes this nasty chunk of hate from my life, more Love grows. <3
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