INTRODUCTION TO UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE AND POWER OF WOMEN!!!!!

Genesis chapter 2




Today we are walking in: Introduction to Understanding The Purpose And Power Of Woman!!!!




Today we look to the word-PURPOSE- H6213 ’asah--to do, work, make, produce; to act, act with effect, effect








The Torah testifies...............

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The prophets proclaim..................

Jeremiah 26:3

If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose H6213 to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.









The writings bear witness...........................

Proverbs 20:18

Every purpose H6213 is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.




INTRODUCTION: UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE AND POWER OF WOMAN




It is extremely difficult to be a woman in the twenty-first century. Women around the world are facing the dilemma of identity. Many women are struggling to discover who they are and where they stand today- in the family, the community, and the world. At the same time that women’s personal expectations and roles are changing in some nations, many men around the world still have their own opinions about the place of women and want to impose certain standards of behavior on them. Other men are uncertain about the women’s role and function, and therefore they offer little support to women who are struggling with questions of identity. Additionally, many societies are still very much in a place of transition regarding the status of women. Because of this shift in position and roles, many women are finding themselves in either an uneasy cooperation or an uncomfortable conflict with men.




The question of a woman’s status and the issue of equal rights for women are relevant to every culture and society on the globe. The world’s confusion over the place and worth of women manifests itself in a variety of ways. In industrial nations, changing roles of women in the family and society not only have brought new vocational opportunities for women but also unforeseen personal and social issues. Even though women are working the same jobs as men, on average they earn less than men, on average they earn less than men and have less opportunity for advancement. Though many women are building careers, they are also still doing the majority of the childbearing and household chores. The pace of such a life is leaving them exhausted and disillusioned. On a personal level, confusion over male/female roles and expectations has led to misunderstandings, conflicts, and unstable relationships with the opposite sex. Women today are struggling with the delicate balance of attending to the needs of both their families and their careers, job competition with men, emotional turmoil and lost income due to divorce, single parenthood, and conflicts stemming from cultural changes in the way of women and men interrelate. Some women are confused about what a woman should be and how she should conduct herself because they’re not sure what a woman is supposed to be responsible for anymore.




We are not addressing the underlying cause of the problems of women worldwide.




What is compounding these issues is that cultures around the world have their own ideas about a woman’s identity and role, and these ideas are varied and contradictory. In many Western countries, a woman is accepted as a competitor in the work world at the same time she is often expected to fulfill the traditional roles of wife and mother. In many developing countries, cultural views of a woman’s role continue to devalue her worth and dignity. Sometimes, she’s considered the equivalent of a domestic servant or slave. A woman living under such a view is extremely vulnerable to emotional or physical abuse, poverty, disease and even death. A striking example of this plight of women in Afganistan who are being denied health care, education, employment, and personal freedoms. Another example is the situation of women in third-world nations who are at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. In June 2000 United Nations AIDS Report on the Global Epidemic reported that the percentage of women being infected with HIV is rising. Fifty-two percent (1.3 million) of all AIDS deaths in the year 2000 were women. The reason? Many young girls and women are being sexually exploited and are falling victim to the disease through contact with infected men.




The breadth and depth of the issues that women face worldwide is overwhelming. Yet current books and other literature about male-female relationships and women’s rights are not addressing the underlying cause that is fueling the crisis women are dealing with today. My concern is that the longer this cause is overlooked, the longer the plight of women will continue.




Women are facing a myriad of issues and dilemmas, whether they live in Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, South America, Australia, Antarctica, Asia, or North America. There will always be certain factors, such as natural disasters and war, that exasperate problems for women and men alike; however, the root cause of the special problems women face, the issue that is largely contributing to their distress in the world, is essentially being ignored. The woman in North America who is juggling a career and family, the woman in Afganistan who is being denied basic human rights, and the young girl in Kenya who has just contracted the AIDS virus are each facing aspects of a common dilemma. Their problems are different manifestations of an underlying issue. Uncovering and addressing this underlying issue is a central theme of this series. What, then, is the root cause of the problem?




Before I answer that question, I want to say that it is not as if efforts and progress have not been made in respecting and valuing women. For example, from this inception, the United Nations has been concerned with women’s issues. The United Nations charter affirms its “faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women.” In the years since the founding of the United Nations, international laws and treaties regarding women’s rights have been adopted. Yet if you read the language of these succeeding proclamations, you will notice a recurring theme. After acknowledging that some progress has been made, the resolutions admit that discrimination against women still exists even among member nations who have pledged to uphold the resolutions! Those who are committed to making life better for women have had to admit that progress is slow and that change is hard to measure- and even harder to enforce.




The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, often called the “international bill of rights for women,” suggests the cause of the problem. It “targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations.” Over the centuries and millennia, societies all over the world have developed ideas about what it means to be a woman or a man, and most of what has been promoted through culture and tradition has devalued women in some way. We may well ask the question, What has caused diverse cultures and traditions around the world to misunderstand and devalue women? Why is this attitude seemingly ingrained in people’s hearts the world over?




If you don’t know how something is meant to function, you will misuse or abuse it.




The basic problem can be summarized in this way: There are fundamental truths about the inherent makeup of women and men that have been lost to the cultures and traditions of the world as well as the hearts and minds of individual men and women. They have been replaced with distorted views of women of male-female relationships, and these distortions have been promoted through culture and tradition. Because of these lost truths, women and men alike do not understand a woman’s nature, potential, role, and unique contribution to the world. The result is that women are misunderstood, held back from fulfilling their potential, and abused. The hurt, loss, trauma, and physical peril this has placed on women is tragic. There has been a terrible waste of life and potential over hundreds and thousands of years; this waste has been catastrophic not only for women, but also for men and human society as a whole.




Women and men alike must come to know the woman’s true nature and purpose if we are to address the plight that has affected women throughout history and still affects them in the twenty-first century. Women, as well as men, must gain new perspectives of themselves, since women have largely developed their self-concepts from cultural traditions shaped by men who did not understand females.




One of the main points I want to emphasize in this series is that, if you don’t know how something is meant to function, you will misuse or abuse it. This is easy enough for us to understand if we’re talking about bouncing checks because we’ve failed to balance our checkbooks properly or allowing our cars to slowly deteriorate by neglecting to change the oil regularly. Yet a similar principle applies to our failure to understand the inherent nature of women (and men) and how we were created to function together as human beings. The woman has been misunderstood, misinterpreted, and manipulated for thousands of years. As a result, she has been and is being abused in societies throughout the world.




This is why so many past efforts on behalf of women have fallen short of success. This is why a country like Afganistan can appear to be making progress in valuing women and then reverse itself. Merely insisting that women be treated right apparently will not change the false views of males and females that are ingrained in many men and women. People lack a basic understanding of the woman’s nature, and wherever this lack of understanding exists, there will always be the misuse and abuse of the woman. Therefore, we not only need to affirm the worth of women, but we also need to lay new groundwork for understanding who a woman is and how she should be viewed and treated. Repeated resolutions from the United Nations or the efforts of concerned groups- notwithstanding their good intent- cannot ultimately change the hearts of men.




We must look beyond the cultures of the world and rediscover intrinsic truths about the nature of women and men. We must transcend tradition and recapture principles that can free women to be fulfilled and valued, regardless of their nationality or geographic location. We need to understand the inherent nature of a woman and the implications of that nature that will enable us to address her particular issues-whether she is struggling to regain basic human rights, or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS.




If we look at the issue of women’s rights from this perspective, it will give us the proper focus for solving the problems women face. Much of the discussion of women’s rights centers on what a woman is capable of doing and what she should be allowed to do. I would like to suggest, however, that these questions, while important, are actually secondary questions. The fundamental question, from which all other questions can be addressed, is not so much what a woman does as who she is, and the implications of who she is. When we come to know who a woman is, then the roles that she takes on in life-whether she is a homemaker, a businesswoman, or a prime minister- will be seen in an entirely new light, and the conflicts between women and men over the status of women can begin to be resolved.




A final note of caution: The temptation for women who are being devalued by men in a specific instance or through societal discrimination is to want to dismiss men altogether or treat them in an adversarial way. Yet to do this would be to disregard the inherent makeup of women and men and how they are meant to function together. The end result of such an approach would be damaging to a woman’s potential and advancement, and real progress would not be accomplished.




What we want for the twenty-first century is a rekindling of hope, the capacity for women around the world is to bring their dreams of equality of access, opportunity and rights, for women in the twenty-first century. The truths contained within can create a better world for women and men- the world it was created to be.

In the mid-1960s, James Brown came out with a song that exposed the spirit of the age, entitled, “It’s a Man’s World.” The song sold a million copies. (I wonder who bought it?) James Brown was singing about an attitude that pervades the nations and cultures of the world. That attitude is, in effect, “Even though women are here, this world was made for men. It’s designed for males. Women are just filling in where needed. You women stay in your place;this is a man’s world.”




Does the world belong to men? If so, what place do women hold in it?




A Controversial Issue




One of the most controversial issues of our modern times- a topic that has been debated with much discussion and dissension is the role, position, and rights of the woman. Historically, in nearly every nation and culture, women have been regarded as inferior to men, holding a secondary place in the world. The following are traditional perceptions of women that still persist today. Women are considered….




-Inferior to men, second-class citizens.

-objects for sensual gratification alone.

-weak, incapable of real strength.

-lacking in intelligence and therefore having nothing to contribute to society.

-the personal property of men, the equivalent of cattle.

-personal servants, whose only purpose is to meet the needs of their masters.

-domestic slaves, to be used as desired.

-objects to be passed around until finished with, and then discarded.

-subhuman.

-deserving of abuse.




Depending on where you live in the world, your past experiences, and whether you are a woman or a man, the items on this list might shock you, offend you, be discounted by you, or serve as a painful reminder of what you are currently enduring.




If you live in an industrial nation that has seen significant improvements in the status of women and the opportunities open to her, you may not think these negative perceptions of women are relevant to your relationships or the interactions between males and females in your society. Yet the underlying assumptions behind them persist in every nation because they are so much influenced by legislative and societal changed as they are by ingrained attitudes in the hearts and minds of men and women. Women are misunderstood and degraded around the world, and it is causing them emotional, physical, and spiritual distress.




A Universal Problem




For thousands of years, in nearly every culture and tradition in the world, women have been devalued and therefore mistreated in some way. What accounts for this outlook? Why is this problem so universal? The fact that the devaluing of women is so widespread across the globe points to a cause that goes much deeper than mere culture or tradition.




One of the reasons the plight of the woman has been such a difficult issue to remedy is that it’s not easy to change a man’s mind about a woman’s place in the world. The idea that this is a mans world is very deeply entrenched. Even though legislation might be passed or public policy might change, you can’t easily change a man’s mindset. This internalized devaluing of women is the reason why women generally continue to be discounted and exploited in almost every society in the world, regardless of certain social and political advances. In industrial nations as well as developing nations, the plight of the female is still very real. It is tragic to have to admit this is true in our modern society.




In the neighborhood where I grew up, it was common for me to hear men saying, “Woman, do you know who I am? I’m the one who wears the pants around here!” That statement was supposed to imply who was in charge. These days, both men and women wear pants, so who is that statement talking about now? This spirit of male dominance, this attitude of, “Stay in your place. You have no say in this; you have no contribution to make. You have no sense, anyway,” has pervaded our societies for thousands of years, and it is a spirit that still has a hold on many nations.




This prevailing attitude is the reason why the social and political advances of women- which on the surface seem to be victories- can become burdens to women because they are in reality only one-sided victories. For example, women can declare that they are equal with men, and society can try to enforce this equality, but the attitudes of men (and also other women) may not necessarily be in agreement with this change in status. This can cause perplexity, stress, and conflict. Thus, much confusion about the role of the woman still exists today.




Women’s Movements




Only in the relatively recent past, mainly in industrial nations, have people risen up and argued that the devaluing of women is not right. This protest has been manifested in various women’s movements, such as the women’s suffrage movement in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Sometimes we forget that it is only recently that women were given the right to vote in many countries. We’re not talking about two centuries ago; we’re talking about eighty years ago even in America. Only recently have certain nations considered women viable and significant contributors to the mainstream of society.




Some of this change came about through expediency. Two world wars and the Great Depression altered people’s perception of the role of the women and their capabilities. While the men were off fighting wars or looking for work in other cities or states, women were needed to take on roles and jobs that men had traditionally performed. After the Second World War, men returned to their jobs, and many women were expected to return to their former roles, but the taboo against women working and contributing in areas such as business and government had been broken. Even though traditional views of women predominated, the culture had undergone a perceptible change.




In the last forty years or so, in America and in parts of Europe- in countries such as England, sweden, and Norway- a spirit has risen up among women, a spirit counter to the prevailing attitude, which says, “We are equal to men. There is no difference between us.” In America this spirit has been encapsulated in the phrase “equal rights.” The equal rights movement came to the foreground in the 1960’s and originally had certain goals in common with the civil rights movement. The spirit of the James Brown song, that we live in a man’s world, gave this movement its impetus, and millions of women got on the bandwagon. “This is not a man’s world,” they said. “We are here too.” Thousands of women marched in front of the White House in Washington D.C. They held big banners and placards and shouted in the streets. They held meetings in football stadiums and packed them to capacity. These women talked about passing the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). They wanted to amend the Constitution of the United States to declare that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” They were crying out to be given their rights to be equal to men. They wanted the same rights as men to participate in the world and to be involved in everything men are involved in.




Whose Rights?




If you ask somebody for something, you are admitting they have it.




I was in college during this period of uprising and revolution, and I used to sit in class and listen to people debate the issue of women’s rights. I would also sit and watch television in the lobby of the university, and I very clearly remember seeing these women standing up, shouting for their rights. Although I appreciated their overall concerns, something about their approach bothered me. What came to my mind as I watched them was that if you ask somebody for something, youare admitting that they have it; if you have to demand something from someone, you are confessing that they own it. When you do that, you are devaluing yourself, because you are, in effect, relinquishing the possession of your rights to someone else.




This principle may be widely applied. For example, it pertains to race relations as well as to male-female relationships. If the white man asks the black man for something, then the white man is saying to the black man, “You have what I need.” If the black man asks the white man for something, he’s saying to the white man, “You possess what is mine.” If the female asks the male for something, she’s admitting that he has it. If the male asks the female for something, he’s acknowledging that she controls it. When you go to another person or group of people in order to get something that you claim you need, you are admitting that that person or group has ownership of it.




Therefore, if I say to the government, “Give me my rights, “ I am admitting to the government, “You have jurisdiction over my rights. “ Laws delineating our rights can be good, but we must remember that laws can’t grant us our rights; they can merely acknowledge the rights that we already have. I decided years ago, as a teenager, that nobody has the liberty to control my rights because my rights are Yah-given and inherent. Some people are amazed at my outlook. A black preacher came up to me one time and said, “Man, you’re a different kind of black man.” I said, “No, I am in control of whose opinions are important.” There is a significant difference between demanding one’s rights from someone and displaying the rights one already possesses. This is a critical principle to keep in mind as we explore the underlying reason for the devaluing of women. If we understand that the woman’s position and rights in the world are inherent, it is going to change our approach to solving her plight worldwide.




Joseph is a good example of a person who displayed his rights in the way in which he thought and lived. His story is told in the book of Genesis. Joseph was falsely accused and put in jail. Yet he said to himself, “I’m not a prisoner, “ and he was soon put in charge of the whole prison. (See Genesis 39.) It’s all about attitude. The Romans had Yahusha bound in chains, but Yahusha told Pilate, in essence, “I’m not bound; you’re the one who is bound.” Pilate said, “Don’t you know who I am?” Yahusha answered, “I know who you are. You’re a fool. You’re being totally manipulated by history and prophecy. You can’t kill Me; I don’t give you the right to have power to kill Me. No man takes My life. I am a free Man.” (See John 19:1-16.) There are people in jail right now who are spiritually free, and there are people who have never been near a jail who only seem to be free. Inwardly, they are bound.




So, when you demand something, you have to be careful, because you might be subconsciously implying something. You might be suggesting that you don’t really have any rights of your own. I want to ask women, Do you really want to go to men and say, “I demand equality with you,” implying that they have the power to make you equal? That is a dangerous thing to say. If you convince me that I have the power and the right to make you a whole person, then you are in trouble, because I could use it to play games with you, to manipulate you. I could use it to get what I want. I could give you some freedoms, as I pleased- just enough to keep you in check- and withhold the rest. I believe that many people in movements for equality are inadvertently confessing that they have given over their rights to someone else.




Prejudice Persists




Even so, countries such as America and Sweden have recently elevated the status of women through legislative acts, achieving a certain amount of societal change. After a difficult struggle, the woman- who was once mainly thought of as a “baby-bearer,” “property,” “servant-slave-maid,” and someone who did the work men considered beneath them- now participants to some degree in both civic and political affairs. Her contribution is beginning to be appreciated. Many women are involved in opportunities and activities that were formerly reserved for males, such as leadership, management, and sports.




Women have not been allowed to develop their full potential.




However, although we can say that there has been some improvement, in most societies, women are still suffering the prejudice of the male against the female, and this bias continues to degrade women. Men’s hearts cannot be changed by legislation. People are still reacting and adjusting to the legislative and civic changes that have been made over the last several decades so that, even though the law says, “Women are now equal to men,” this doesn’t mean that men think so. As a result, women are still being confused, misused, and abused. They are being frustrated and manipulated. The persistent devaluing of women continues to hold back progress, and women are being treated in every way except in the way Yah originally intended.




This depreciation of women is preventing them from living in the fullness of what Yah created them to be. There have been some notable examples of women throughout history who have been able to accomplish great things, display exceptional work and talent, and contribute much to society. Yet the majority of women have not been allowed to develop their unique personalities and gifts fully so that they may enrich their own lives, their families, their churches, their communities, and the world.




The serious problem we are facing, therefore, is that, not even the government can really do what needs to be done to remedy the devaluation of women, despite legislation and some positive social changes.




Can Negative Ideas about Women Be Changed?




Can the world’s negative perceptions of the woman be transformed? What is the cause of the universal devaluing of women in societies across the centuries and around the globe? Why is it sometimes so difficult for men and women to understand one another and to work together harmoniously in this world? Culture and tradition, while apparently part of the problem, cannot take the full blame, because the problem spans ages and cultures and seems to point to a deep-seated discord or adversarial relationship between men and women.




What, then, is the cause of this age-old dilemma? It is that we have lost what it means to be human. We have lost what it means to be male and female. An understanding of the essential makeup of human beings has been discarded or forgotten and has been replaced with distorted views of humanity. Culture and tradition have then contributed to the problem by perpetuating these distortions.




Equal and Different




Yah has already made men and women equal.




If the nations of the world has understood Yah’s purposes for women and men, they would have realized that the spirit of equal rights that demands equality from men was never intended by Yah, because He has already made men and women equal. Men and women were created equal. Men and women are equal. That’s not for a senate or a congress or a cabinet or a parliament to decide. Yah already made this decision in creation. Again, when you allow others to declare who you are, you are submitting your rights to them, and you must be prepared for the consequences. Don't ever give anybody the right to saywhat kind of human value you have. Don't let anybody else tell you how much of a person you are. When you understand that equality is inherent and discover how it is to be manifested in your life, then you can begin to live in the full realm of that equality, regardless of what others tell you about yourself.





There's another point we need to carefully consider, because it is at the forefront of the current misunderstandings between females and males. Many of those who advocate equal rights say that there is no difference at all between women and men. Yet while women and men were created equal, they were also created different. This is part of their unique design. This statement may confuse some and anger others, because somehow we have come to believe that different means inferior. It is true that many societies have promoted the false view that because women have a different physical and emotional makeup, they are somehow inferior to men. A few women have adopted the attitude that men are inferior because they are different from women. Both views fail to appreciate, value, and celebrate the complementary differences between men and women.




In many spheres of life, we don't consider differences to be weaknesses but rather mutual strengths. In music, who is more important to a full symphony orchestra, a violin player or an oboe player? Both work together in harmony. In sports, who is more important to a medley relay, the swimmer who swims the breaststroke or the swimmer who swims the backstroke? Both have to be strong swimmers in their particular specialty, for a medley race cannot be swum with only one type of swimmer. The answer to the historical devaluing of women does not lie in declaring that there are no differences between females and males, but in recognizing and affirming their complementary differences. The problem is that we don't understand and accept these differences so they can be used in harmony.