Role reversal, the new normal?

I believe gender role reversal is the new normal.  Just look around.  You are subtlety being brainwashed into believing a stay at home dad and working mom are entirely normal and everything is just wonderful if this is the way you choose to live.  The days of Leave it to Beaver and Ozzie and Harriet are done.

If you think I’m being too harsh with the term brainwash turn on your television and see how many families you see living out a traditional familial structure; the man working and supporting the family and the wife staying home to care for the children.  Carefully observe ads that you see and run those through the filter of God’s Word.

I grew up in a family where my dad understood hard work.  I never remember my dad not working and I more often remember how hard he worked to provide.  My mom worked on a very limited basis but was always there when we came home from school.  What’s this world trying to get people to buy into and if you are a Believer are you buying into it?

I’ve recently seen two commercials that I believe illustrate my point quite nicely.  In a new Tide commercial we have a man extolling the virtues of being a man that can fold laundry perfectly and all the things that any woman could do.  Yet he is also manly enough to do pull-ups and crunches at the end of the commercial.  It’s a very catchy commercial and you might even find yourself chuckling at this.

In the second commercial we see an attractive and nicely dressed woman in her power suit instructing these working men how to build a house, or so it seems.  She is the authority in this scene as she points to the blueprints, they look at her with interest and nod their heads in agreement to whatever she is telling them.  These poor guys would be lost without her instructions or so this leads us to believe.  The message is loud and clear, she is in charge.  Note: I couldn’t find this one.

God designed men and women differently for good reasons.  It’s not accidental that men are more equipped for hard work and women are more nurturing with children.  If you bring a baby into a room of men they will probably look at the baby and go back to their conversation.  Do the same thing in a room full of women and they will be drawn to that baby like flies to a dead carcass.

So when did all this change begin?  Some will say the sexual revolution of the 60’s and 70’s but if you look closely you can see examples of this throughout history.  Let’s look at when it really began.

Genesis 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

God’s design was for man to tend the garden, to be a worker.

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone, I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

Woman is to be a helper, her job is to assist the man, this seems to be very straight forward and clear cut to me.  Man and Woman striving together for a cause.   See also Titus 2:3-8 for instructions for men and women.

So what happened when did this go wrong?

Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

Ladies do you have a desire to control and rule over your husband?  If so, God told us this would happen, I doubt any of you would dispute that you have pain in child birth.

Men your natural reaction will be either to show her who’s boss or to allow her to lead to avoid the turmoil that comes when you try to assume leadership.  This is the natural outgrowth of sin.

We can go all the way back to the beginning to see the cause of this today.  It’s simple.  When sinful man or woman listens to the lies they end up in disobedience to God’s design.  We just happen to see that today it is getting more in your face.

God also told us this would happen.

Romans 1:21because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.      

The world will tell you that having a man work and wife staying at home to raise children is just not fulfilling enough.  There’s more out there for you if you are a smart and intelligent woman and you can earn more than the husband or the man, do it.  It’s a lie and if you are struggling to identify your role I pray you can find peace and solace in the only source of truth, God’s Word.

I recently knew a couple that seemed to have a good marriage with two nice boys.  He raised the kids while she went off to work.  The man enjoyed yard work and gardening, kind of like Adam, but he also worked out.  He was a big guy.  It seems while hanging around the gym he became attracted to another woman and before long the marriage was done.  It’s heartbreaking for me to see those boys and wonder how their lives will turn out because of decisions this man made.

Will this happen in all cases of a woman working?  Of course not; affairs happen when men work because of the ravages of sin but there is peace in God’s plan and His design, but that is foolishness to most (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Kevin