Friday; February 28

How many of us remember Sadie Hawkins events?  I don’t know if there is such a thing as Sadie Hawkins stuff anymore, but in years gone by, it was a time when girls asked out the guys.  The thing that got me thinking about this was that these were often held on February 29 – Leap Day.  As I mentioned, with the modern social freedoms enjoyed by women, it is not a novel concept for a woman to invite a man out (in all honesty, Jeane was the one who asked me out on our first date), but for a while it was a pretty big deal. 
          As I thought about this concept I realized the amount of change I have seen in my lifetime.  We have gone from a time that featured Sadie Hawkins themed events to a modern claim of “I don’t need a man in my life”.  Have you ever wondered what has brought about this change?  While some of it has come from the changing morays and expectations of modern culture, I believe that it also has its roots in men not living up to the leadership expectations that both God and society had for us.  I realize I may take some heat for what I am writing, but, one of the things that helped fuel feminism was the all too common problem of males refusing to take their roles seriously.  Too many men neglected their families, ignored their spiritual obligations, downplayed their call to moral purity and abused their positions to the point of all but abdicating their responsibility.  Please do not misunderstand me – I am not saying that I bemoan advancements made by women in many leadership roles, I am lamenting the lack of accountable leadership in men. 
          The Apostle Paul used a phrase in I Corinthians that is probably not socially correct, but I think it should strike a chord with us today.  When he challenged those in the church to, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” (I Corinthians 16:13) he set a standard for us to strive to attain.  It is incredible what loving, caring, mature people can accomplish when we take our responsibilities seriously – both men and women.
Think About It!

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