In the world, the desire to empower women often leads to an effort to put men down. This happens because, apart from Jesus, people are still living in the contention and power struggle between men and women that began as a result of the Fall (Gen. 3:16).
Jesus came to break down the dividing walls that separate us (Gal. 3:13–14), reminding us of the original call for men and women to work together, side by side, in order to advance his kingdom on earth (see Gen. 1:28).
God’s plan has never been to elevate men above women, nor to elevate women above men. Yet it’s so easy to run from one extreme to the other.
The truth is, men need women, and women need men (2 Cor. 11:11–12).
God made us to need each other, because together we represent him. We are both made in his image and commissioned to represent his image to this world. That’s something we can only fully do when we learn to lead and work together.
Almost no story in the Bible demonstrates this as well as the story of the incarnation. When God decided to birth his plan of salvation into the world, he partnered with one human: a woman named Mary.
Joseph’s role in that plan was to believe in and protect what God was doing through Mary. If he had abandoned her, Mary, as an unmarried pregnant woman, could have been put to death according to the Old Testament law. She needed Joseph to protect her within a culture that would have stoned her for her yes to God. No wonder God sent an angel to make sure Joseph knew he should not quietly separate from Mary as he had originally planned.
Have you ever thought about the criticism Joseph might have received for this decision? What did his family think of him for marrying a women who was already pregnant? What judgments did people make about Joseph’s character or strength? Mary’s clearly got him wrapped around her finger. Now he’s going to provide for and raise another man’s child. Joseph needs to get a backbone and learn how to lead.
Joseph made real sacrifices to fight for Mary’s call.
We still need men like Joseph today. As women who are pregnant with the word of God in a culture that often attacks and minimizes our voices, we need Josephs who will value and protect what God wants to do through us.
We need men who believe so deeply in the importance of empowering women alongside men that they will risk criticism, judgment, and attack to stand by us.
So many women have experienced silencing and criticism when we have raised our voices, led and taught, and fully showed up in answer to God’s call. We haven’t done this because it makes us feel special or important. It would be so much easier to remain in the shadows. To just be quiet. Yet the Lord keeps pushing us out, keeps calling us forward. And what can we say but yes?
For women who say yes to a call to leadership, it is very often a choice to risk anger and criticism and relational losses, and when the men we work and lead alongside are willing to stand with us, to take some arrows on our behalf, that means everything.
It’s one thing to cheer someone on from the sidelines. It’s another thing altogether to jump into the fray with them. The word ezer that God used in Genesis 2:18 to describe the way he created the woman as a helper is a powerful word that means protector, defender, and companion at arms. Picture two warriors, standing back-to-back, protecting one another while fighting their mutual enemy.
I love this picture because I believe it shows God’s original design for men and women, working together to defeat darkness and usher in the light and truth of God. We can’t do this divided. Only as we work together in oneness will we fully represent God to the world around us.
As a woman called to leadership, I’m here to say: Men, we need you! We need you to believe our stories, to believe in our call, and to fight for our voices. We need you to stand with us.
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