Equal in Value

I recently saw the following article: "I'm A Christian Girl And I'm Not A Feminist, Because God Did Not Intend For Women To Be Equals." A young woman who is young enough for me to consider myself older and wiser posted it on the book of faces.

I read it, and then I thought about it a lot, because there was a time in my life when I would have jumped at the chance to post that same article. I more or less agreed with sentiments like these at the time, except I took the approach that I was a feminist, a true feminist, who believed that women should be encouraged to do what fulfills them, and that what fulfills them was to live subservient lives to men.

The author, Rach Wallace, says a lot of things I've heard before. She ends her article stating that her Bible-believing readers are free to believe whatever they wish, as long as they have Biblical evidence. I commend her for that, for leaving room for the nuance. This discussion in particular desperately needs nuance.

But the longer I have thought about the article, the more I have found myself perturbed. Not by Wallace's overall sentiments, they're common enough. (Common doesn't make right, but neither does it make shocking.) The fact of the matter is, I'm not sure what her point is. She does not believe men and women are equal...what.

Equal in physical strength?
Equal in efficiency? Project management? Witty banter?

Equal in Biblical literacy? Spiritual authority?

Equal in net worth?
Human worth?

She makes the bold claim that "Women and men are not equal in God's eyes." My guess as to what she meant is that God does not see women and men as the same, that is, He sees differences between them. But if you're going to make such a bold statement, it's dreadfully important to explain what you mean by that.

Does God see differences between male and female physical form?
Does God see differences between male and female psyche?
Does God see differences between male and female calling?
Does God see differences between male and female value?

I think she meant calling. I hope she meant calling.

Did she?

I don't know. I believed "we are not to be equal to our male counterparts" for a long time. I defended it. And then, much like Eustace, who, "[s]leeping on a dragon's hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart...[became] a dragon himself," I woke up to a devastating reality: I sincerely believed I was not as important as men in the Kingdom of God.

I do not blame Wallace, and those who share her views, for the broken, "never enough" heart that such a belief creates. I blame myself for choosing ideology over Jesus, so many, many, many times. I blame the enemy for using everything he could--good and bad--to crush my soul.

But unless you would work to the enemy's advantage, I beg you, for the love of the fragile human heart, emphasize a woman's value, equal to a man's, ten times more than you do her role, however you define it.

Wallace requests that differing beliefs be presented with evidence. I do not think we differ in this belief that men and women have equal value in the sight of God. But if this is a point of contention, I offer up the following:

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28