The Wonder Woman of Proverbs 31 – Was She a Feminist?
By: Susan Deborah Schiller Photo Credit
The Proverbs 31 woman could be called a "feminist" today… she wakes up before everyone else, oversees all her household needs and delegates tasks. She buys and sells real estate, makes enormous profits, and with those profits she sees to it that her family's needs are met luxuriously with enough left over to care for the poor.
Some Christians condemn feminism, perhaps because they have a stereotype in mind… women who hate men, for example. Women who refuse domestic obligations. Women who are lesbians. Women who refuse to submit to male authority.
The feminism movement is something I've been pondering a lot lately… because I think I am one… a Christian feminist, that is. I believe Christian feminists are bringing us back Home, to the way God designed marriage and family to be… reducing stress and anxiety and creating healthy, sustainable lifestyles based on righteousness and justice.
Let's begin with finding out what a Christian feminist, or a modern Proverbs 31 woman, is.
At Rachel Held Evan's site I met her friend, Dianna Anderson, who gives this definition:
Feminism is a vast umbrella that can be best summed up by the idea that “women are people, too.” This means the stay at home mom. This means the Christian woman blogger. This means the girl who politely says “no” to you on the bus. This means the prostitute on the street corner. This means your worst enemy and your best friend are deserving of equal treatment under the law and by their neighbors because they are human beings. For most feminists, this means no strict gender roles or a hierarchy that demands a man be the authority over a woman just because he’s a man and that a woman be submissive and quiet just because she’s a woman. Feminism means allowing both women and men to be themselves as God created them to be – as individuals, not defined by their reproductive system but rather by their personalities, their relationships, their definitions of themselves. It is a movement that prizes people being who they are without being reduced to what equipment they do or don’t have.
It is because we love our brothers that we are feminists, not because we hate them.
Wow, I love that! It's completely opposite of the Christian culture I was immersed in.
Coming from decades of church leadership, graduation from a Christian college, and overall church-aholic… I went the whole nine yards when it came to defining my role as a "Christian wife" inside a misogynistic culture (which I didn't know it was, at the time).
I submitted to misogynistic male leadership (marriage and church) to the point that my marriage counselors told me I was "the most abused" woman they had met. It was a curse that followed me wherever I went.
My ex-husband confessed to our marriage counselors that he delibertely sabotaged my business and my writing opportunities because he was afraid I was becoming "too powerful" and that people would like me better than him. I was given twisted Scriptures about submitting to my husband, putting his career first, and playing a supporting role.
The abuse caused me to shrink, to hide my talents, and it brought a great sickness into my life. If it hadn't been for the sabotage, I believe there could have been a way for both of us to shine.
I have had to find a different way of thinking to change the legacy I leave for my grandchildren. I like what psychologist, William Marston (creator of "Wonder Woman") has to say:
"Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman."
It makes me wonder how God must have smiled when He created His first woman. She was the "final act" of creation – the piece that made everything else function. The family is God's masterpiece – a relational unit designed to enjoy fellowship with Him and each other, surrounded by beauty, majesty, and splendor. This is worship.
"Worship" for me has become a 24/7 lifestyle. When my hands knead bread dough, cut fabric for a quilt, or type a story, it's my offering on the altar. Praying is no longer the chore of reading through a list of needs, but it's a conversation between Papa God and me, as I center myself on a foundation of Truth and Love. He changes me from the inside, and it creates my world. I believe that's what God wants of all of us…
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. – Romans 12:1-2
Family is the backbone of society, and as we consider what God designed in marriage and the roles of husbands and wives, I believe we are entering into true religion. True religion is based on the same foundation as God's throne: Righteousness and Justice.
That's what get me excited, these days! I'm getting my life back, but my passion is to see the promise of God in Malachi 4 come to pass – the Family restored!
With all my love,
Sue
Susan Schiller knows how it feels to lose everything: marriage and family, church and reputation, finances and businesses, and more. Susan's upcoming, interactive memoir, "On the Way Home," tells the story of how she came to be known as "the most abused woman" her counselors had yet met and how she learned to navigate her way out of hell to a rich and satisfying life. In her lifetime, Susan has served in duties ranging from home school mom – to pastor – to full-time deliverance minister – and to Midwest regional prayer coordinator for a large international ministry. These days you can usually find Susan soaking in her favorite hot springs pool, reading a book (or several), blogging, baking bread, or hanging out with her family and friends. You can pre-order a free copy of Susan's upcoming book, "On the Way Home" by registering here.
Copyright 2014, Susan Schiller, http://TeamFamilyOnline.com. For reprint permission for any private or commercial use, in any form of media, please contact Susan Schiller.
{ 0 comments… add one now }