This week, we kicked off a new series called “He Said,
She Said.” We will be talking about the way God designed mankind in general as
well as the specifics of how He created man and woman to have certain important
characteristics. Outside of the obvious physical differences, He intentionally
wired our brains a little differently. Getting
hold of these truths will help all of your relationships. You will better
understand yourself, your spouse, your co-workers, your children, your fellow
church members, etc… This week jumps around a lot. It is laying groundwork for us going forward in this series.
Remember that we now have the mind of Christ, a mind that
knows and follows through to complete its purpose (note Christ in the mind of
Christ means “the Anointed One and His Anointing”). Joshua 1:8 says we should meditate on
the Word in order to make our way prosperous and successful. The idea of
meditating in Hebrew paints the picture of a cow that chews on its cud –
swallowing it and bringing back up to get more out of it. It also describes a
“muttering” or constant thinking about and dwelling on – to the point that it
is just continually coming out of your mouth. The word for “successful” in
Hebrew prudent, circumspect, wisely
understand, and prosperous. The word for
prosperous means health, wealth, joy, peace, and highly favored. Psalm 1:1-3 echoes this as well.
The differences between the genders have been made to be
negatives rather than positives. Instead,
we need to realize that they are strengths that God placed into the design of
man and woman. That is the world’s way
of thinking that needs to be changed (Romans 12:2). There are a lot of aspects of God’s Word
that we must dwell on. Specifically, we should allow God’s view of ourselves
and others consume us – instead of following our natural tendencies. Do you
think Jesus allowed His mind to be consumed with all of the dumb things people
around Him were doing (starting with His own disciples)? We know that Jesus saw
the bigger picture. Even on the cross, He was asking His Father to forgive
those who were crucifying Him!
From the start, men and women were equal. In
Genesis 1:27-29, God spoke to THEM. Man and woman were in the same spirit. It
was later that God divided them into separate physical bodies. He never took
back from the woman what He had promised to THEM. Galatians 3:26-29 re-states
that, in Christ, there is no difference in gender. We all have the same purpose
to be fruitful, multiply and fill and subdue the earth.
After the separation of man and woman in Genesis 2,
we find that each was made to bring different things to the table. But the
purpose and call was the same. We talked about how the brain is divided into
the left brain, more logical, and right brain, more creative. We talked about how men typically are more
strongly left-brained, and women are more strongly right-brained (in
general). Traditionally left-handed men
were not allowed to be warriors, etc.
Also, men are sowers and women are receivers and multipliers. This is important to know as a husband or as
someone who works with women. What you
sow into women will come back at you, good or bad.
We also talked briefly about the need to keep our
thoughts about each other positive and in line with the Word. 2 Corinthians
10:5 says we need to destroy any thoughts and arguments that are contrary to
God’s Word. Philippians 4:6-8 echoes this as well. This applies in ALL areas – including how you think about others. This is a biblical truth and it is
reaffirmed in the physical body. Doctors and scientists know that dwelling on
negative thought releases dangerous chemicals in the body. These chemicals
cause fatigue, sickness, disease and…. Belly fat! Conversely, positive thoughts
and attitudes release healing chemicals in the body that even cause fat and
cancer cells to be dissolved!
