As frustrating and unfair as it may seem, Women are the champion gatekeepers of our culture. I know, I know… I can almost hear the groans of the women’s studies experts and their persuadees in our modern gender-less/gender-obsessed/gender-confused generation; but consider this: When men fall short of their moral responsibilities, women are the fail-safe.
Allow me to reiterate, men most definitely do have moral responsibilities to God, their wives, their children and society at large. Calling women the gatekeepers of our culture in no way diminishes those responsibilities or exempts men. It does, however, reveal that God has safeguarded society by providing a partner for men in the all-important role of protecting our society and families – namely women.
I once heard someone say that his Grandmother knew more about the differences between men and women than professors with PhD’s in gender studies. I am forced to agree. Despite all the fancy academic footwork and linguistic challenges to basic biology, most people intuitively understand that men and women are different in many ways.
Much to their consternation, many who would have us believe that gender is a state of mind, were knocked off-balance when a recent study by the Weizmann Institute of Science, identified around 6,500 genes that express themselves differently in men and women. Many of these had no obvious link to sexual reproduction. The bottom line – drum-roll please – men and women are different! – ooo, ahhh!
While everyone pays for cultural break-down, women are the first to feel it. Statistically speaking, single Mom’s fair worse economically, environmentally and emotionally than single Dads who often skip off to their next adventure.
The children pay in many ways as well. Often the care-giving parent’s bitterness infects the child. Strengths that should be equally distributed from both parents come up short and abandonment issues often ripple on for a lifetime. These challenges then extend to multiple generations. So much for free love, it costs way too much.
One of our greatest challenges today is that modern culture has taught us that marriage, monogamy and strong intact families are passé or perhaps even Victorian and foolish. Many believe that people should be able to explore multifarious relationships in the search for personal identity and meaning. The problem is that this kind of experimentation seldom, if ever, results in happiness and completeness. Instead it just adds to the baggage that we are already carrying.
As we prepare for the all-important Mother’s Day this Sunday, I simply want to say thanks to all the Wonder Women and Super Moms who despite great adversity remain our last best line of defense. Thank you for protecting the weak, nursing the hurting and resisting the cultural temptations to cast off all restraints and live life like it was all about you. Because you have kept God and the big picture before you, you have kept us all from falling long-ago. Thank you!
Shalom,