Experiential Conclusion
I was recently organising an event in church, and had to work with a couple of people, both men and women, in order to conduct it. To my surprise I found that the women in the team completed their tasks on time. They then picked up the slack when a couple of men failed to deliver what was entrusted to them. They went the extra mile to help me, shouldering the extra burden brought on by this delinquency, and I was able to complete what I set out to do. It seems to me that women are faithful and true, dependable and conscientious, content and constant, ready to work. It’s no surprise that God uses women as His evangelists and carriers of the good news!
In the world of work, women work 10 percent harder than men in today’s offices, undertaking even non-promotable tasks or activity that’s beneficial to the company but not necessarily to career advancement. An anthropological study of gender division of labour across different societies has shown that women work harder and more intensively than men.
In any church, women usually outnumber men, consistently attending gatherings, especially prayer meetings, willingly serving and supporting others. There is an innate and instinctive response to spiritual matters in women, a longing for God and a running after Him, often surpassing that of men. This trend is not only among Christias, but also among other faiths too.
Biblical Basis
The Word of God is filled with instances of women responding to God, naturally and eagerly. In John 4 we see that the first real evangelist was a woman, the one at the Samaritan well whom Jesus met. She went back to her village and told everyone that Jesus knew all about her and all that she had done. She made such propaganda, not feeling the least afraid to expose her own sinful nature and His acceptance of it, that they went back with her to meet Him and believed in His Word.
The last ones at the tomb, when it was closed sealing the burial of Jesus and the first ones when it was opened at His resurrection, were women. It was they who carried the good news to the apostles who then verified it. Women were indeed the first evangelists of the gospel of His resurrection from the dead!
Comparing and combining my practical experience with the Biblical precedents, I had a glimpse of why Jesus chose women to be the first evangelists of His good news!
Exemplary Examples
1. Women are eager learners and thirsty for growth, especially if you give them space and attention. The best way to teach a woman is to give her some consideration, respect and acknowledgement. She will then be open to correction and rectification without rebellion or resistance.
2. Women are relationship-oriented, being connectors and builders of people. Their ability to be empathetic and sympathetic listeners enables them to quickly build a bond with others, intuitively sensing their need.
3. Women are good communicators and are never hampered by a lack of vocabulary, both the educated and uneducated. The 21,000 words a woman is supposed to have in contrast to a man’s 7,000 helps her voice out her thoughts, emotions and opinions. Women may need triggers to talk in order to overcome their natural reticence, but most women will just articulate and blurt out with a little motivation.
4. Women are doers and Bible designates them as the builders of the home. Nowhere in the Word of God does it say that a man builds a home, but does insist the role of a woman. A man governs the home that the woman builds, guarding, provisioning and administering it, but it is the woman who is mooted as its architect and builder.
5. Women are willing to go the extra mile to connect, communicate and care for others. They reach out to those around her and will generally have or be part of a group of people. She will have at least 2 or 3 cronies and friends with whom she will talk at least once a day. She cannot just be without reaching out to others.
Knowing all of this, Jesus not only brought emancipation to women, but also used them extensively in His ministry.
Men’s Matter
Understanding this, the Apostles and leaders of the early church tapped into their potential, giving them free rein even though they laid down principles for their spheres of action. These principles were not meant to confine women (as it is thought and practiced today), but rather provide walls of protection for them to be guarded from the enemy and guided in the right way. Lacking this was what caused her to be exposed to manipulation and exploitation in the Garden of Eden.
Jeff Reed of the BILD network USA, in his paper entitled ‘Women and the spontaneous expansion of the gospel’, declares and authenticates that women were key to the growth of the early church. 60% of any church anywhere in the world are women and any church leader or pastor who recognizes this would be smart to tap into this greatest resource that God has given and blessed his church with.
Myles Munroe points out that the greatest need of a woman is a man who knows his mind and has a blueprint for his life and his family. Created as his helper, he opines that a woman comes equipped with all the skills needed for him to be an achiever. Therefore, if she is blocked or left clueless, she cannot remain quiet but will begin to flow in other channels that will give her field to operate, since she is meant to perform!
Most men reject and sideline women with the accusation that they are incorrigible. They do this because they have no idea or clue about the design of a woman nor do they take the time to learn about her. This ignorance tends to birth insecurity and fear, because of which they think and assume that the only way to handle a woman is to bully, threaten, control or restrict her to a narrow area of operation. This forces the women under such treatment to experience frustration and dejection, resulting in depression and disillusion or aggression and decadence.
Contrary Compilers
This is not to say that there haven’t been any men who have upheld and promoted potential of women. In the history of the world and the church, time and again, there have been men who have understood the value of women partnerships and welcomed the input women gave. Nations have been blessed by the governance of women leaders, voted in and supported by strong and secure men. Corporate companies have grown and expanded by the leadership of women whose authority has been upheld by male colleagues and subordinates. Churches and organizations have been established by the ministry of women with the able support of their men and others in leadership.
However, these have been more of a minority rather than the typical, a very small and countable number in contrast to the vast majority. Acceptance of women potential is yet to become the persuasion and conviction of the masculine gender. It hasn’t progressed to become the default disposition of the male component and counterpart of society or churches as a whole. It is more of a rarity rather than the norm, even though of late there have been perceivable changes in the general outlook of the male social perception.
God’s Grace
Let’s remember that when God didn’t find a man, He always found a woman to birth His will and fulfil His purpose – Deborah, Hannah, Esther, Lydia, etc. Remember also that Jesus has depicted the church as His bride, not as just His Body!
Happy is the man, husband, father, leader, son, grandson who would recognise and accept a woman’s potential, step up to give time and effort to develop as well give room for women to blossom and self-actualize!
Blessed are you if you such a man, for your woman will be a fruitful vine within your house, gladdening your heart and refreshing your soul with the wine of joy distilled from the essence of who she is and what she has become!
Jesus, her Maker, upheld her potential and acumen, giving room for her to flower.
Can you do any less!
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