Privilege and manhood
I heard a term at a recent meeting that was somewhat alarming. The example was that if a man walked through a crowded room he could go from one end to another and people would move out of his way. The man leading a panel discussion said that if a woman tried to do that, people wouldn't move out of the way. He called it an example of male privilege-blaming a lack of common courtesy by those in the room on a man who knew how to move through a crowd. It didn't set well with my spirit. In this example, someone has assigned a sociological term aimed at convincing others that their right of equality is being violated. It made me think a bit. What is God's order and what does that mean to a people?
In a fallen world, one that would deny God, those who are the deniers and the deceived are always trying to cause separation from God. They are attempting to use their intellect to pit people against people using esoteric ideas and expressions that cause confusion and division. There is a God-given order for those who believe. And, while believers are not perfect in its implementation, God's order is intrinsically balanced and, at the same time, liberty-oriented. It protects both male and female. As Galatians 3:28 says, "
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
Privilege, in the sense of those who use it to try to ascribe some sort of guilt or wrongdoing on people, may be better defined as a human condition of entitlement. Those who use the term are often guilty of envy, blame, and strife, wanting to assign a reason to paint an entire group of people with the same brush to justify their own prejudices-or their agenda. This way of thinking is not healthy, but then what can be healthy if it goes against God's order? A society that continuously attacks men and confuses masculinity with labels like "privilege" will eventually reduce itself to a population of base, leaderless, godless sleepwalkers controlled by the very ones who are pointing the finger of privilege. That is their agenda.
There is a Godly order. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:3, "
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [is] the man; and the head of Christ [is] God." This is not about man-assigned privilege. It is divine order. With that comes responsibility. Ephesians 5:33 says, "Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she honors her husband." Ephesians 6:1 says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right." Verse 6:4 says, "And you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath." You see, if the world followed God's order, it would be considered an honorable privilege to be a man. And men need to be men-as defined by God, not by men.
