It has become fashionable to judge persons in the past for not doing enough to stop injustices during their lifetimes. For example, if persons did not own slaves, then we may deem them complicit because they either did business with those who had slaves, or did not speak against it forcefully enough.
Jesus warned us about judging others, noting that we will be judged as severely as we judged others. In various countries around the world, there is: sex slavery, genocide, persecution of Christians, and a host of other unconscionable injustices. At this moment, someone is being mercilessly tortured for their political or religious beliefs and they are desperate for relief.
Fortunately, we live in an age where we can facilitate the relief of all persecuted groups. As a sovereign nation, we can bring their plight to regional and international groups of which we are members. As members of professional and social groups we can put the issue on the agendas to see how we can make a difference. As individuals, we can pray.
There is one group who has suffered more than any other. In some countries, they are subjugated in times of peace, and raped at will in times of conflict. They are our sisters. The justification for their subjugation is normally religious, and the justification for their rape is normally the reward of conquest.
It has also become fashionable to blame Christianity for the subjugation of women, despite the evidence that countries with a foundation of Christianity are generally where women enjoy similar freedoms as men. However, to mention such inconvenient truths is also unfashionable. It is useful to be reminded of the Biblical perspective.
God gave the first man and woman the responsibility of managing the Earth that He created. They were to do this by first managing a small business as a team. The man was initially responsible for using the available resources to complete tasks, while the woman provided strategic advice to advance the work effectively and economically.
God was their coach and friend who instructed them not to get into debt. However, rather than manage the business in a sustainable manner, they were enticed to take out an unsustainable loan which neither they nor generations of their offspring could repay.
Being spiritually in-debt was a stressful existence for both men and women, and it resulted in women being subjugated. The woman’s subservient role was codified in national laws and customs, which were strictly enforced for thousands of years. Fortunately, Jesus paid the debts of all men and women so that they could live spiritually debt-free lives.
This was very good news for both men and women. Men could benefit from a woman’s strategic advice by providing an environment where she can thrive, and women could escape a life of subjugation and operate as true partners.
Tragically, many people seemed afraid to experience the liberty of debt-free living, and preferred instead the false security that their in-debt experience seemed to provide. So how is this Biblical perspective relevant to us today?
History has shown that irresponsible men prefer women to be spiritually in-debt in-order to maintain control over them. When such men get into places of authority, they seem to think that they are entitled to concubines.
There is simply no good reason for any woman to choose the stresses associated with spiritually in-debt dependence, when a liberating debt-free existence is freely available to her. Barbados needs spiritually debt-free women to play national roles at this critical time. It is important to note that such women comprise approximately one half of Solutions Barbados candidates.
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