#ClaireMusings: women in society

Since becoming a father of a little girl, I see the world very different.  I see what society is telling our daughters, and who they would like to mold them to be.  It's sickening.  Women/girls are hated by society, and we buy into it like it's an actual reality.

Women are strong.  Women are tough.  Women are equal to men.  Those are not the statements that we hear in our culture.  We typically hear that women are property or are less than men.  It's just really disgusting.  It happens in The Church even more than I think we realize, but then again aren't wives supposed to submit to their husbands?  I mean it's like the ladies can't get empowered or see their worth from anywhere. I was so proud of my Pastor that past weekend when he said, "Women and men are equal, God created them from one another."   That seems like it should be common knowledge, but it's not and that's why I am so proud of that statement.

We have a Presidential candidate that has said some repulsive things about women. I mean, has said the most misogynistic things, and is leading in the polls.  IS LEADING, by a HUGE MARGIN!  We start to believe when we follow blindly.

Today I was scrolling down my Instagram feed and saw this little gem:

This is a local high-priced boutique in Amarillo Texas.  It's usually associated with fashion brands, but today the store just didn't choose wisely.  Just what I want to get my daughter for Back To School; socks with self-proclaiming  character flaws. Having my daughter wear these like a banner, telling the world that she's a brat or trashy... is well trashy. 

You can look any number of places and see how devalued our society from every angle tells our girls how to look, how to dress, and how little worth they have.  It's up to us, dads included, to make sure we don't let the world tell our daughters who/why they are, but we must fight against the grain to ensure our daughters have a platform that will propel them to their individual excellentness.  

I choose to disagree not abandon.

Recently someone told me I was offended at my church.  I wouldn't normally let that bother me, but it hit a nerve.  I turned and said,  "Just because I disagree doesn't mean that I am offended."  Then I kind of did some examining of my heart.  I learned a lot about myself and why it ticked me off.

A little back story:
I go to a mega church, and while it's really popular to hate on them today, I certainly don't hate my church.  I see the great and the bad of such a behemoth.  Recently, I found myself  disagreeing with something the church is doing.  It's something small but enough for me to think I didn't want to participate. Yes, I see things that make me cringe but I am a church advocate.  I think it's extremely important.  As someone once put it, the local church is the hope of the world.  I agree.

I was talking with someone about it and they totally misunderstood what I was talking about.  They assumed that I was leaving the church.  Well, no.  Just because you disagree with something doesn't give you the right to leave.  That's how I would have known I was offended.  If I have let something so trivial affect me to leave.  Over the years I have not agreed with my church on occasion.  I think it's healthy to not follow blindly everything a church does/says/believes.  This doesn't mean I am in rebellion as someone once put it.  I can simply disagree without being in rebellion.  I still tithe, volunteer, and participate.

I believe that when you have crossed the line is when you let little offenses blow you off course and leave and go to another church, sit in the audience, and compare how much better you and your current church is.  I think when you get to the point where you would leave, you need to examine your heart.  Talk yourself off the ledge and realize it's probably best to talk to someone about this.  Barring, that is, if your church is doing something wrong.... like heresy, which probably happens but not as regular as people claim.

I have seen many people leave a church because.... well there are a lot of reasons.  When you boil it down, it's an offense.  The sad thing, when they get comfortable in their current church they'll just get offended and move to another.

In the end, I kind of like it when I disagree with my church.  At the end of the day, I either learn why I agree with my assessment or I mature.  Either way I win, and in the end the Body at large wins when we invest in our churches.  Abandoning the ship shows our immaturity.

Churches aren't perfect.  To think they are is to fool one's self.