The Broken Sword
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I feel sorry for men these days … and it's not easy to find anyone ready to side with me on this.
Dr. James Dobson did … founder of Focus on the Family in 1977 and Family Talk in 2010 … he has observed …
"Traditional concepts of masculinity and femininity are being battered and
ridiculed, creating confusion for both men and women."
Men don’t quite know who they are any more ... and don’t know what they’re supposed to do.
A girl in a Yahoo forum took my view … she wrote about the relentless assault against traditional roles of men
and women … then concluded that: "…men are now either demonized, made to look like idiots, or
totally controlled by their wives as though they were children."
She continued ... “the traditional view of the male being the head of the household is now seen as being sexist,
oppressive and even abusive. The result is what some call the "sissyfication" of the American male.
You see ... I feel sorry for “Men” these days.
In times past … the role of man was pretty well defined.
Men provided and protected. (they had a job and they were needed)
Men fought the wars.
Men hunted and gathered and brought home and provided.
Men built the houses and the roads and the cities and the towns.
Women needed men and respected men and adored men and cherished men.
And … men were happy
WWII changed that system in America.
Men went to war … women went to work.
Women liked the job force. Women stayed in the job force.
When the men came back from war ... they had to compete with women for their old jobs.
The job force became more technical and less dependent on "brute force."
Women became more determined to work with men … no matter how degrading, brutal, or gritty the job.
Women eventually won their right to be equals with men in the job force ... and men stepped aside.
Men have been "stepping" aside for the past 50 years … more and more every decade.
Men have stepped aside on the battle field.
Men have stepped aside in the government.
Men have stepped aside in industry.
Men have stepped aside in the church.
Men have stepped aside in the home.
And … you’re thinking … SO WHAT?
Dobson noted: "The role of women is becoming more like the role of men
and the role of men is becoming more like the role of women."
And … you’re thinking … SO WHAT? Maybe that’s a good thing … maybe that doesn’t matter.
Dr. Charles Winick … professor of anthropology and sociology at City University of New York would not agree …
He studied more than 2,000 cultures that have existed in world history.
He found only 55 cultures where masculinity and femininity blurred. (2%)
Not one of those unisexual societies survived for more than a few years.
Our society is headed in the wrong direction on many different levels ... and is suffering for its mistakes …
But there are no mistakes being made more serious than those mistakes affecting God's Institutions:
The Home … the Church … and Marriage.
God created Male and Female … and made them unique. (Mt 19:4-6)
After the sin in the Garden of Eden … God assigned man and woman differing roles. (Gen 3:16)
In the New Testament epistles … man and woman are given differing instructions and objectives. (many texts - next wk)
When our “Social Reformers” started “tinkering” with God’s Institutions …
The Home … the Church … and Marriage ...
... they put our society at great risk.
God has NEVER tolerated a society which DISHONORED His design for marriage and the home.
And yet … I tell you …
Insidious forces ... in our country ...desperately desire ... to “blur” ... the roles of men & women
and to remove God from the equation altogether.
Gloria Steinem … was the founder of the National Organization for Women ...
... about 40 years ago she said …
"By the year 2000 we will, I hope, raise our children to believe in human potential, not God.”
(I’d say she has succeeded ... to a very large degree)
Feminist organizations are determined to “blur” the roles of men & women in our society.
University professors are determined to “blur” the roles of men & women in our society.
Homosexual organizations are determined to “blur” the roles of men & women in our society.
Hollywood celebrities are determined to “blur” the roles of men & women in our society.
In a recent interview, Camron Diaz defended her latest "live-in" relationship
by gladly announcing that … Marriage is dead.
I feel sorry for “Men” these days.
Powerful forces undoubtedly “hate” the Traditional Biblical role of Men in the home.
Gloria Steinem once said, “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.”
Poor guys ... demonized, made fun of, unwanted, sissyfied ... no wonder we feel so nervous all the time.
We need to find out …
… what God has in mind for the “Man” in the home
… what kind of “Men” we need to “become” to assure that our homes are as successful as they can be.
And … that’s what we shall do … Next Week.