Articles
Heroic Women
May Theme: Authority in the Home (Wives/Mothers)
What is an heroic woman? From political debates, to media interviews, to college-campus surveys, to our communities the standard is getting harder and harder to achieve. How so? First, let’s see what the world is communicating, then we’ll see why this is unattainable.
Speaking of “heroic”, if you watch Marvel Studio cinema, it is clear what they think female heroism looks like because they portray it the same way almost every time. From She-Hulk, to Captain Marvel, to the villains — it is a female who ultimately acts, thinks, and talks like a dude! But it gets worse, because then, in fear of being viewed as sexist, all behavior and emotions that could even remotely be viewed as feminine are checked at the door. Therefore, they produce characters that are completely callous, condescending, and narcissistic.
The feminist would likely stress that it’s the fight against the patriarchy. Furthermore, the complete rejection of any traditional-societal norms of womanhood (“traditional” really meaning “biblical”). This translates into women who completely disdain marriage, deny of any need for male interaction whatsoever, and rebel against every role or job that is associated with the home.
The faith-deconstructionist might say it’s abandoning the maternal function in the home. The secularist would say it’s dominating the work force. The hedonist would say it’s sexual liberty (i.e. self-pleasure seeking). The politician would be too cowardly to tell you what a woman is, and would be devoid of the knowledge for the definition of “heroic.”
Notice A Pattern?
In almost every case, the world conveys that the way a woman can be considered heroic is: (1) Be like a man - what’s more sexist than that? (2) Don’t be a mother - because motherhood is somehow mundane, weak, or unfulfilling? (3) Focus only on yourself and no one else - because that’s what heroes do?
The world says, “If you want to be a heroic woman then you need to leave behind every trace of womanhood and do what the men do… also, be a selfish jerk.” Does this make sense? More than this, how is this not insulting?
God Disagrees With The World — Do We?
The world only views God’s Word with regard to women’s function, work, and purpose as sexist and antiquated. This shouldn’t shock us. However, I do wonder how many Christians (men & women) share the world’s disgust when they read women are to, “…love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored” (Tit. 2:4-5). Or that, “…Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.”
Women Deserving Of Honor
The very things that God says honors Him and His word is what the world would have us believe is dishonorable, disparaging, and prideful. But let’s think for a moment. The women who are held in high regard in the Bible as most admirable, honorable, and even heroic are those who acted within the purpose and roles God created them for.
In Luke 2, could God have used Mary to bear Jesus, if she had rejected the biological maternal function He had designed her for? If Mary had accepted the world’s standards she would’ve given up the blessing & honor of bearing the very SON OF GOD (Lk. 1:42).
Deborah was used by God for the benefit of all Israel. She was an effective Judge for a time, and it wasn’t because she flipped God’s design of authority like Eve, Jezebel or Athaliah! In fact, she does everything she can to keep herself in a role of submission when speaking to Barak (Judges 4:6-9). While the world says women can’t be successful in “traditional” roles Deborah laughs in their face!
Abigail tamed the strength of David when he was ready to kill - not by imitating male aggression, but by presenting herself as “the maidservant of my lord” (2 Sam. 25:23ff). Esther thwarted a genocidal plot against all of God’s people - not by pulling strings as queen but by appealing to a husband as a wife (Esther 8:4-6).
These were heroic women. Those who surely recognized the unpopularity of their piousness, femininity, and submissiveness yet remained devoted to these things — and moreover, accomplished far more than the rest of the world in doing so.
