The women cook, clean, and take care of the babies.  Meanwhile, the men work, sweat, and drink beer.  Right?  Well, not anymore.  Or is it?

This view of gender identity has plagued our culture for some time now.  What’s more, the aforementioned view of gender roles is usually looked down upon by the liberal left.  To be a stay at home mom, house wife, and the one who primarily cares for her children is something that is seen as being traditionally conservative… and sometimes… very weak.  I’m not saying that those who don’t stay at home with their children are liberal; I am saying, however, that this type of anti-stereotype is usually harped upon by the left.  This is absolutely a generalization — I am aware of that.  I don’t think I’m wrong though.

Turn on the television to any sitcom and men are seen as stupid, lazy, and sex-crazed.  The women are the smart ones.  The women are the providers.  The women are the ones that have it all together.  The men are, well, complete morons.

In a world with much gender confusion, both men and women seem to be running from their God-ordained roles.  Men are called by God to be leaders, providers, and protectors inside the family unit.  Women are called by God to be helpers and nurturers.  In a world outside of Eden, women are running to show themselves suitable for roles given by God to the man, and vice-versa for that matter.

It is more important than ever that we teach proper gender roles to our children.  Being a helper and nurturer, though, does not have to mean that you are the one that cooks, cleans, and stays at home with the baby.  Women can work.  Women should work.  Women should strive to be CEO’s and CFO’s, engineers and medical doctors, accountants and teachers.  In doing so, however, the God-given role should not be marred.

If a woman can do both then I say, “God speed!”

What’s wrong with a woman cooking, cleaning, and caring for a baby?  What’s wrong with a man working hard to provide for his family?  When we stereotype something, though, it becomes something of an enigma that people want to run from.  ”Oh no!  If I’m to be seen as successful at all, then I shalt not ever be seen as cook, house cleaner, and care-giver.  Oh my!  That would be just awful!”

May we continue to pursue what God has called us to.  May we, as men, continue to pursue being leaders, providers, and protectors.  And may we, as women, continue to pursue being helpers, nurturers, and care-givers.  And if that means we find ourselves cooking and cleaning or we find ourselves being the primary providers, may we praise God, the creator of both men and women, and model our roles for our children well.

Caveat: In many ways, I chafe at this topic of gender roles. I squirm in the way the hip young
youth pastor squirms when he runs across 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and has to tell his group of dweeby
15-year-old boys and ambitious 15-year-old girls that the latter must remain silent and the former
has authority.

I don’t think the issue ever gets resolved in most group discussions. The girls always leave
feeling a bit uneasy about it, and I’m sure the guys do, too. It bumps up against our cultural,
feminist-tinged sensibilities.

But rather than do what one writer dubbed “hermeneutical acrobatics” and try to squeeze what
the Bible says about gender roles into the ever-changing mold of what the broader culture deems
acceptable, let’s just take some of these passages about gender at face value.

Genesis shows us gender roles that are different from each other. They can also be complicated, mysterious, confusing. But they are beautiful nonetheless — even when we can’t always wrap our head around them.

This is the inerrant, inspired word of God. Chances are, what needs to change is our attitude
toward the scripture—not the scripture itself.

—

Let’s set the stage. Adam is enjoying life; he’s got a great career and a vibrant relationship with
God. It’s not Adam that decides he’s unsatisfied—it’s God, who declares “It is not good for
man to be alone.” He proclaims something is missing and he can do one better than a one-king
kingdom — he can share it between two people.

So God creates woman and presents her to man.

Sometimes, the “she was taken out of man” line in Genesis 2:22 can get dicey. Does it mean that
woman is less than man? She only has an identity in relation to man?

But the passage reads differently. Everything leading up to it shows how unsuitable a companion
all the animals in the garden were. Even a relationship with God can be improved when you
add an equal. It’s like a grandkid sitting at the table with his grandparents. While he loves his
grandparents and will hang out with them forever, a wise grandparent realizes he’d probably have
a great time playing with kids his own age.

Same thing here. God wants to give Adam someone who’s on his level.

Adam’s exclamation in Genesis 2:23—“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”—
points out how suitable, how equal, Adam and Eve are. The emphasis is their similarity and
compatibility—not a hierarchy.

But God still made man and woman differently. He gave the genders different names; he
describes the woman as a help meet.

Volumes have been written on that phrase “help meet,” a translation of the Hebrew “ezer
kenegdo.” Hebrew scholar Robert Alter, quoted in the book Captivating, makes a good point. The
word translates to “sustainer beside him” and is used about 20 other times in the Old Testament
to describe God. Most of the instances we see it are when people cry out to God to be their
help—to keep them alive when they are on the brink of death.

The woman was not provided to Adam as a useful but dispensable personal assistant, or an
intern to get his coffee in the morning. She has different skills and characteristics that are keeping
him alive, just as his skills and characteristics are keeping her alive.

A woman’s role is definitely unique and definitely vital. And the two fit each other so perfectly that
they can “become one flesh”—physically, but also as a team moving toward a single purpose.

Finally, here’s a powerful statement: “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no
shame.” There weren’t the body image issues that plague our society today and torture us
with guilt trips about working out or losing weight. There weren’t the insecurities or impossible
standards that come from an out-of-whack understanding of sexuality. And another convenience:
Adam and Eve apparently didn’t need much protection against the elements—God protected
them even from the minor discomfort of getting too cold and needing to bring a sweater.

It was truly a paradise. If I could sum it up in one word, it would be contentment. People trusted.
God provided. And Adam and Eve were completely content in that—even when their roles were
different.

This is one of the most popular of the unpopular arguments to enter into. Especially for a man who is writing to other men, as I am now. To the women reading this, you are welcome to read and encouraged to share your thoughts with all of these stupid boys who need the insight of a God honoring woman.

 Should wives submit to their husbands? Let me make this easy. Yes. The Apostle Paul makes this abundantly clear in numerous passages. For more on that and to gain a better understanding of the foundations of this article, feel free to click over to our article on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Go ahead, I will wait here for you.

After understanding the Biblical perspective on Manhood and Womanhood, I would like to discuss the solution to a wife who will not recognize her husband as her leader. How do we, as men and husbands fix this? I can’t provide an answer for every situation, but for the vast majority of these situations, the answer lies in Ephesians 5:22-33. [...]

I recently came across a few blogs that are all about raising your children with unbiased gender roles.  Written beneath a cultural and feminist worldview, these women audaciously claimed that boys should be able to wear dresses, paint their toe nails, and wear pink.  I was shocked!  They made the claim that girls are allowed to play sports, play outside and get dirty, and play with toys made for boys so why can’t boys play with dolls and where dresses?

This might sound a little crazy but this is actually a great question for Christian parents to think through.  

Let me start with a pretty embarrassing story that is so ridiculous that I am actually cringing my teeth as I’m typing.  

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