Was Jesus A Feminist?
I think Jesus was a feminist.
Really. I think He was.
More on this in a minute…
I think modern day feminism has lost the plot. Feminism used to be about women having the same abilities as men and being able to use them freely. It wasn’t about “rights” we had to try and “earn,” but a freedom that was always there and deserved to be implemented.
These days, feminism “earns its rights” by taking them away from men. It’s allowing women to live independently apart from the opposite sex in a we-don’t-need-you-to-be-happy philosophy, and that’s really where the issue begins.
Example: I went out to grab a case of bottled water the other night from Trader Joes. I went in only for the water, so I skipped grabbing a grocery cart and decided to carry the case both to the register and the car. If anything, it gave me an excuse to flex my muscles and burn some extra calories.
Over the course of my five minutes trek through the store, I had two or three male cashiers run and offer me aid, to which I politely declined. Each asked if they could either grab me a cart or carry the water for me. None of them disputed when I said ‘no,’ they respectfully let me on my way and told me to have a nice evening.
The next day, I told a friend what had happened, and how I thought their willingness to assist was both a sweet and gentlemanly gesture.
“I dunno, I consider myself feminist,” my friend shrugged, “and I would have been upset.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you’re capable of doing it by yourself. They shouldn’t have even asked.”
I thought about that comment through the course of my day, you know, 'cause I tend to overthink things until they wind up here for all the world to read. I came to a striking conclusion: Could it be that the rise we’re seeing in Peter Pan Syndrome is a direct result of the feminist movement?
This isn’t a groundbreaking idea. I’m sure there are 9,000 internet studies out there I don’t have the time or the attention to stop and read. It’s just that I HAVE to wonder if women wanting the responsibility of men has something to do with men not feeling the need to step up anymore. The reason why men are afraid to commit in relationships or live audacious, authentic lives of self-sacrifice and leadership. The women want it so badly, why not let them have it, right?
But IS it right?
I’m all for women’s rights. I like voting, working, and wearing pants. I like knowing that I have the freedom to be able to carry my own water and be able to nicely tell people I can do it myself. It’s a healthy freedom that should belong to ALL people, whether they are men, women, black, white, disabled, or have chicken legs.
The problem, is that the pro-woman figure we once fought for has spawned into this big, ugly Alpha woman. The kind that says we shouldn’t have men asking to hold our water for us because it’s asserting dominance over our sex, when really, all they’re doing is exercising their basic right as men to lead us with kindness, and we consistently decline it for all the wrong reasons.
That’s why I think Jesus was a feminist.
I say that, because I think Jesus was pro-women. He wanted women to follow Him, He allowed them a distinct place in His ministry, and most importantly, they carried a very special place His heart. In a culture that looked down upon, even murdered the harlots and whores, Jesus publicly sat and dined with them. He encouraged them, embraced them, and told them their destinies were greater than their pasts.
While we can go deeper and get into the whole “woman in leadership” debate (another time, another place), there is no denying that God’s heart towards women is huge, and that He ultimately calls women to do things that can and will shape the course of history. Where would many biblical heroines be if it were for their bravery? (Esther? Rahab? Mary? The OTHER Mary?)
The world today is not pro-women. It’s pro-allowing women to do lots of crazy things, but certainly not pro-women. It’s backwards and objectifying. It tells women they have worth, yes, but also how they have the right to step on people to prove it, or that they are fearfully and wonderfully made, and how they ought to flaunt it for the rest of the world to see.
Being pro-women isn’t showing off your buttcrack on Instagram.
I care too deeply about the role of men in society to see it reduced to providing sperm and earning paychecks, and it rattles me to the core knowing that we as women might be playing a part in the steady decline of men and soaring catapult of boys.
I’m perfectly capable of carrying my own water, but you’d best be sure if a guy offers to carry it for me, I’m going to thank him and let him know that his leadership is meaningful. And there are gonna be times when I’m too tired to carry the darn water, and when he offers to carry it for me, I’m gonna give him the privilege of doing so.
Because that’s what being a man is. It’s not seeing a weak woman and trying to dominate her, but knowing she’s capable of doing it herself and wanting to treat her with tenderness and respect because she’s of value and he recognizes it.
