Go Home

Before I begin, I would like to acknowledge my youth. I am talking about two Christians much older than I; as such, everything that I have to say comes from a heart of great respect for an aged stalwart of the Biblical Christian faith and from a heart of due respect for a sister in Christ who is by far my senior. Please also note that this is my post for next week; I’m posting it early while the issue is fresh.

Once upon a time, there was a wrestling team. Since this wrestling team consisted of devout Christian young men, it operated according to certain principles- one of which was straightforward: “we don’t wrestle with girls.” Sometimes, over the course of a given tournament, a female opponent would step onto the mat, and whenever this happened, they had a code of honor among themselves that they would simply forfeit the match.

Now, this group of wrestlers lived in a land where, on occasion, crazy laws were passed. And it came to pass that the armies of this land were mustered for war, and one such law was ratified. This law instituted a special kind of draft, requiring that from each town two random people would be chosen. These two would then be required to face off in a wrestling match to assess their physical prowess, and the winner would be drafted into the army.

Stick with me here.

In the particular town where our heroes dwelt, one of the wrestlers was chosen for this match. We shall say, for purely hypothetical purposes, that his name was John. When the sun rose upon the wrestling mat spread ceremoniously upon the village green, he found, standing across from him, an opponent bearing shoulder-length blonde hair, diminutive features, and a clearly feminine frame. We shall call her, for no particular reason, Beth.

Now, Beth had already been explained the situation. She had even been given the opportunity to withdraw, and to let the men of the town bear the weight of combat for her. But she had the notion that she could be good at this combat business, and she insisted on giving it a go.

John and his teammates all gasped when she stepped into the ring. They had a code. They had a system of honor. They did not wrestle with women. But this was different, and they all knew it.

John had three options. The first option- forfeiture- he could not even countenance. John knew that to forfeit would be to send this woman to the front lines, and if wrestling her was bad, sending her to her death was far worse. That’s not to mention the example he would set for the townfolk. He would- he must- be the one to lay down his life. He had to win.

His second option was straightforward and satisfying. When the whistle blew, he would take two broad and manly steps forward, seize her by her waist, growl a lionlike rumble of masculine strength, and throw her bodily to the ground, knocking the wind out of her lungs and out of her military aspirations, and ending the match summarily. This was the most instinctive option, and it resonated with his gut reaction to the unnatural sight of a girl on the wrestling mat.

The third option was the most nuanced. He would not- he could not- show any weakness, hesitation, or indecision. God’s Word was clear. He couldn’t let her go to war. Yet he would also refrain from the manly roughness that he would normally unleash upon his opponents (and were it a man-to-man fight- if his opponent were named, say, Joel- that would be quite appropriate). He would face her squarely, approach her calmly, and, as gently as possible, pin her to the ground, holding her there at a respectful arms’ length until the whistle blew.

Even though he didn’t consider forfeiture for a moment, some of the spectators wished that he would, claiming that that would be the most loving thing that he could do. But for these weak-kneed very-gentlemen we can only recommend that they find a different church- the kind of church that teaches the Bible.

The second option had visceral appeal. It would resonate with reality. It would conclude with the right result- the woman would be sent home, the man would be sent to the battlefield. It would demonstrate unquestionably the inherent power of masculinity. And it truly would, at least in part, be motivated by a love for her and for Biblical order. On the other hand, she could get hurt. It could appeal to the baser instincts of his teammates, causing them to laugh and gloat at the decisive display of manly combative superiority, which in turn might cause division in the town, and distract from the real issue. Meanwhile, the aforementioned weak-knees would begin apologizing to everyone and everything around them, and many of the women would start taking martial arts courses or testosterone supplements. At the end of the day, the question would arise- did his method of male dominance undermine his message of male leadership?

The third option would be a little awkward. It would be unpopular with many on all sides. He would have to sacrifice pith for pathos, wittiness for winsomeness, sharpness for sorrow. But he would not sacrifice the truth. He would not let her win. He would not pretend that she belonged in the ring- but he would be a gentleman even in pushing her out. Even in putting her in her place, he would do so without leaving his; his conduct would validate his conviction. He would recognize that even though this woman was a very experienced wrestler, she was still a woman; as such, he had the inherent, God-given strength of masculinity, with which she could not compete; therefore, if he were to manhandle her, her error would be eclipsed by her appeal as the underdog. No, he would not let her win by forfeiting. But he would not let her win by treating her like a man either. He would honor her as a woman, even while rebuking her with a gentle pin under the weight of Scripture until the referee called the match.

Some of his teammates would wonder why he didn’t just throw her down, reveal the silliness of the whole thing, and get it over with. The weak-knees, who were actually offended in the past by the fact that he wouldn’t wrestle girls, would now be offended by the fact that he wouldn’t send them into combat either. Beth would still be upset to have lost, to be sure, and some of the women in the crowd would still grumble. But the path to the truth would be clear of stumbling blocks, and the offense would only be the Word of God, John’s pure conviction, and his loving desire to protect Beth, and all women like her, and indeed all the people of the town, from the little, well-intentioned compromises that pave the road to hell.

Inch by inch and yard by yard, That’s the devil’s calling card; Give an inch, he’ll take a mile, Moving slowly, all the while. You’ll say “I gave but small indeed!” He’ll smile and say “that’s all I need.”

#Complementarianism #JohnMacArthur #SBC #Egalitarianism #BethMoore