female masculinists

I like that word in that I don't like it. Masculinists. It's a take off, of course on the F word: Feminist.

I am not a feminist. I am not a masulinist. I'm a humanist if anything. Men and women are supposed to work together. It's a team. Not a division, but it seems to become that, especially in the biblical realm.

In my quest for biblical truth, that women and men are supposed to unite equally in His Kingdom, to battle the enemy shoulder to shoulder, I seem to have realized one of women's greatest foes: other women.

I was ordained an elder many years ago. I got the most support in my eldership from other men, not women. Women look askance at me if they find out I was ordained an elder. The men of the church I was in were my biggest supporters; they were the ones that called me to minister to me as I was ministering to others. Elder, pastor, deacon. It's all the same thing: servant to others. Period. None of the high falootin' stuff. I think men have no trouble with it because they view it as someone who knows they have stuff to do for God. Women view it as a woman in authority and by golly, they already allow enough people to have authority over them as it is. That's really their problem. It's an honor for me to serve my Father, and an ordination is a public announcement that I am held to a certain standard. I take that very seriously, and to disrespect that call on my life is to disrespect Him.

Some women that I know look at me funny when I say that I don't do my husband's laundry. If I were to say that to a man, he'd probably laugh. Women, though, often look at me like I'm a bad wife. I find that interesting. My husband is better at his laundry than I am. He does his because he likes it a certain way. I cook because I am the better cook. He does the long-term finances because he is better at it. I do the short-term finances because I am better at it. It just seems ironic that women who supposedly believe that we are all to use our gifts and talents according to God's assignments would judge another person based on their cultural perception of who that person is supposed to be. We have a long journey ahead of us.