Just a few weeks ago, August 18, 2020, we marked the 100th anniversary of passing the 19th amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote. This wasn’t an easy task. It required tireless efforts by activists and reformers. Now, here we are 100 years later and women still face gender discrimination.
In my 27 years as a working professional woman with an earned Ph.D., I still face gender discrimination. Sometimes the discrimination is blatant such as salary differences with male colleagues, or leadership promotions given to men over more qualified women. At other times, gender discrimination is more subtle —the good old boy network active at work, men telling off-color sexist jokes, men taking credit for the work of women, etc.
When women try to address insensitive remarks or more blatant outright discrimination, they are accused of being overly sensitive, misinterpreting, or worrying too much. In some cases, it could cost us our jobs due to power differences. We are told our responses are an overreaction because the person didn’t intend to discriminate. But this “overreaction” is often due to something we call the piling-on effect that wears on you over the years. A small incident here, another there, over and over, crass jokes, inappropriate touching, seduction, off color comments….after awhile it piles up and then we do “overreact!”
The current cultural response is to call the misogynists out and shame them for shaming us. Revenge is the answer in most every movie plot. But as a person of faith, we can’t go there, not if we really believe the words of Christ. Don’t get me wrong, discrimination of any kind is sin. It is a a symptom of brokenness. And I am not suggesting we don’t confront it when we experience or see it. But how we confront it matters.
During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us that is it easy to love the lovely, not so easy to love everyone else. Then he introduces the concept of radical love–love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you. What? Seriously? But think about it. Jesus lived it. He honored women in a culture that did not. He talked to them, esteemed them, had them join his ministry and more. And he was tested by people time and again as they challenged His prescriptions and sermons. Yet, he lived out his words and chose to forgive them — the very ones who abused, discriminated and hated him, even when He went to the cross. There is no hypocrisy in Christ. He walked the talk and tells us to do the same.
Do we fail? Yes, probably most days if we are honest. But I am challenged by the way Jesus takes our actions right to the motive of the heart. When you are wronged, are you motivated by anger, hate and the need for revenge? Or are you motivated by love. Love is patient, kind, and doesn’t behave rudely. So despite my rather long list of experiences with gender discrimination, I am most challenged by the One who modeled the way. He tells me to check my heart motive. He tells me to speak the truth and do so in love. He tells me to stand for justice, but not to do so by harming others or returning evil with evil.
How is this possible? We aren’t God. No, but we have His living power in us if we are one of His. That power is transformative. It can turn a terrorist in to a saint. Through love, we have self-control. So while we aren’t where we need to be with eliminating gender discrimination, speak the truth and do it in love. Check your heart and guard it. Let love lead and see what God can do. And know that those in the larger culture won’t understand this love, but will be moved by it.
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