Being Like Him - a 40 Day Lenten Devotionalಮಾದರಿ

Equality in Relationships

As we reflected yesterday, the ideal family to model after is the Trinitarian Family. The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit are equal in status, dignity and honor. The functional hierarchy in their relationship in no way undermines the equal status they possess.

When God created us, He created us in His image as well as with the distinct polarity of sexes. He established functional roles for the man and the woman. He ordained the man to be the functional head who had to oversee and take care of the Garden and not to eat the prohibited fruit of the Garden (Gen 2:15,16). The woman likewise was brought to the man to be a suitable helper to help him in the tasks assigned by God to man. The creation and ordination of women to be the helper and the man to be the head in no way makes one superior to the other. Being made in the image of God is a status that both man and woman possess equally.

However, equality does not imply equivalence. Not everything we have are in equal proportions because we are equally made. The things human beings earn or have as possessions in this world varies from person to person. These varied proportions do not make one superior or inferior to the other. Yet, do we not see husbands treat their wives as lesser beings than themselves? The same holds true for wives as well. Do wives not look down on their husbands, for example, when they are the higher earning member? Are we like Him in our marriages?

What about the other human beings we encounter on a daily basis who are less advantaged than us: our house maid, the watchman, or the janitor at work? Are we like Him in treating God’s image bearers with dignity and respect irrespective of what they have and do not have?

Prayer

Lord, forgive me for the times when I have treated people differently based on their gender, wealth, positions and other achievements. Forgive me for not treating my spouse as my equal. Give me the grace to be like You in treating others with dignity and honor. In Jesus name, Amen