Gymnastics

ByHal Hammons

If you want to see the glorious difference between men and women (and have everyone keep their clothes on, mostly), you need look no further than a gymnastics competition.  Myself, I am not particularly a fan; I haven’t even watched Olympic competition for almost a decade.  But I know, for instance, that women do not perform on the pommel horse, parallel bars or rings.  And after watching Olympian Shawn Johnson attempt it, I know why.  The same reason I don’t.  It’s impossible.  The upper body strength is just not there.

The men don’t perform on the uneven bars or balance beam.  And I know why.  The same reason I can’t watch them try.  Physiology.  Let’s just call it physiology.

Neither discipline is intrinsically better or worse, harder or easier.  They just bring out the excellence in each sex.  And the word is “sex,” by the way.  Gender is for English class.

God made us “male and female” (Matthew 19:4) for a reason.  Each supplies what the other lacks.  The two work together to make a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Paul did not deny the existence of male and female roles, either in the church or in the home, in Galatians 3:28 any more than he denied male/female biology.  And everyone knows it; that’s why so-called “gender justice warriors” hate him.  He didn’t give one message to the Galatians and the exact opposite to Timothy (1 Timothy 2:12) — who was himself, ironically, a Galatian.  He was simply saying, in both passages, that man and woman are each glorious in their own way.  Neither more important.  Neither more righteous.  God’s children, both of them.  Each performs beautifully when performing as He intended.

Similar Posts

The Beastly Human

ByHal Hammons

It is no wonder that a society that tells its citizens constantly that they are no better than the animals — indeed, no different from them — winds up seeing those same citizens act like animals.  Why wouldn’t they? How could we reasonably expect anything else?

As Christians, we hope and expect humans to rise above the animal world. Animals can be trained, after all.  Why not humans?  But culture wins over holiness, time after time. And thus we see headline after headline, proclaiming in grotesque detail how degraded a culture bereft of God can become.

Light bulb moment: Why my enemies hate me so much

ByHal Hammons

Last week a video emerged from 2015 (the internet is forever — remember that, kids, the next time you Instagram a photo of yourself in a state and location you might regret later) of former Vice President Joe Biden commenting on his relationship with former Vice President Dick Cheney.  He called him a “decent man.”  “I actually like Dick Cheney, for real,” he said.  “I get on with him.”  Cheney, of course, has borne the brunt of the wrath of the opposition (and a fair portion of his own base) for the war in Iraq that his boss perpetrated.

I don’t care what you think about Biden, Cheney, Iraq, or any other particular element of this conversation.  I share this story merely to tell you about the light bulb that went off in my head upon reading some of the vitriol spewed forth against Mr. Biden from some of the people who, until five minutes ago, may have been looking at his 2020 presidential candidacy with an eye toward supporting it.

Flying with a peacock

ByHal Hammons

There are so many satire sites out there these days, it’s tough to take any bit of ridiculousness seriously — which is, I suppose, a good thing.  Anyway, I figured it was probably a gag when I saw United Airlines had denied a seat and ticket to a woman’s pet peacock, which she needed as an “emotional support animal.”

But no, this one appears to be legit.

Whitewash

ByHal Hammons

Israel is brown.  Really brown.  I haven’t been, but I’ve seen pictures.  And I’ve heard others talk of their experiences.  Paint just gets sandblasted off the buildings, more or less, so most locals don’t really make the effort anymore. That’s what makes the “whitewashed tombs” of Matthew 23:27 remarkable.  They can’t possibly stay white.  Coat…

Glasses

ByHal Hammons

I’m pretty sure I lost my reading glasses this week while running through a parking lot in the rain.  Anyway, I had the glasses, then I ran through the rain, then at some point later I didn’t have my glasses.  Such things happen, I suppose.  And as long as I can get an article out of it, I suppose I can survive.