#firstgift

PERSPECTIVE MATTERS... Man Matters!

“...But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man He made into a woman and brought her to the man.” ~ Genesis 2:20-22

If you don’t know the purpose of a thing, you will likely either abuse it or be abused by it. This is a profound truth worth taking note of. Recent headlines have brought to light what has been going on in the dark corridors of power for likely as long as power has been wielded by men and held over the heads of women. Ignoble examples of sexual abuse on behalf of men in power over women have been bombarding our national news headlines on nearly a daily basis. To their credit, victimized women have been shrugging off the shame that plagued them, in many cases for decades, and have been stepping forward to transfer the shame to the ones who truly deserve it: the men who abused and took advantage of them. As a result, celebrity men are falling like flies in the face of allegations of sexual misconduct. But make no mistake, this dysfunctional behavior is not limited to the domain of the rich and famous alone.

Somewhere, as a consequence of the Fall of mankind, when sin made its debut on the earth, the blessing that mankind in the form of both man and woman was initially blessed with became twisted. The “subduing and having dominion over” edict that man and woman were jointly given over the earth began to manifest itself in a dastardly different manner. Man began to subdue and exercise dominion over woman and women over men, against the order that God had originally and purposefully ordained. What God had ordered and ordained, Satan twisted and made onerous. For God had created the man and the woman as equal co-regents over the earth for the expressed purpose of managing the resources of earth on behalf of the Kingdom of God jointly. The outcome that God desired required the output of them both equally as co-laborers in partnership with one another.

Somewhere in the twistedness of man’s sin condition, man began to abuse the very first gift that God had given to man after man’s creation: woman. Men, we as a group have some repenting to do where God’s first gift to us is concerned. “Well Pastor,” you say, “I’ve never personally abused a woman sexually or any other kind of way. I’ve never so much as called a woman outside of her name,” you counter. Well, that’s great. You are to be commended for the conduct of your character toward women. But that does not absolve our innocent hands of the harm done to women by the guilty among us. God is not only interested in your hands remaining innocent. God is just as interested in getting your innocent hands involved in the healing work that He desires to be carried out. God is looking for you to do what He Himself by His own nature does: Intercede on behalf of both innocent victims and guilty transgressors.

“...The LORD saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede.” ~ Isaiah 59:15-16

Before God Himself acts, He looks for someone who’s willing to jump in and act on His behalf. My brothers, let us not leave God to wonder why there is no man willing to intercede on behalf of women done unjustly by men among us, whether those men be powerful or powerless. Those men who execute abusive power over women sexually, emotionally, verbally, physically, financially or in any other tangible or intangible manner do us all shame and should be shamed for doing so. The worse thing we can do as men is to remain silent and still in the face of injustice of any kind, particularly when it is aimed at those unable to defend themselves.

Women are a gift. It would do us all well to remember this truth especially as the Christmas gift-giving and receiving season is now in full swing. Woman was God’s first gift to man after man was created and found lacking in both partnership and companionship. As Genesis 2:22 points out so poignantly, God presented the woman to the man as a present, God’s first gift to man. It is God who purposed to present and then join the man and the woman. Adam, the first man, was smart enough to see woman as she really is: “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). As a consequence of sin, we men have become less cognizant of this truth to the peril of both ourselves and women alike. A man who abuses a woman, literally abuses his very own self, and often unaware.

It would take one sin-sick soul to abuse the glorious gift that God personally presented and gave to him. But everyday some sin-sick soul is doing precisely that, sullying the gift, the present that God presented. Whether she was given to you personally or not does not matter. Know for certain that she has been gifted to someone: her father to love and to raise, her brother to look after, and eventually to a man that is purposed to be her husband to love, provide and protect her. She is a personal gift intended for someone if not for you. 

God takes His gift and His giving personally. God demonstrated this so vividly through His second and best gift to all of mankind: Jesus Christ, the gift that God presented to take away the sins of the world. Those who abuse that gift, who reject it, reject God Himself and shall be condemned to eternal death. So men, take great care with every woman you encounter. Treat her like a lady, whether she was purposed for you or not. Somewhere out there, there is another man encountering the woman God purposed and intended for you. Surely, you wouldn’t want someone abusing the gift that was personally purposed for you! Women are a gift that we as men will have to give an account for before God as to how we treated. Handle gently each and every glorious gift that God has given, and that’s each and every girl and woman that you ever encounter. Perspective Matters...

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