Real men treat women with honor.
Sadly, our culture doesn’t always model this. We live in a society that cries for the equality of women and yet one that routinely exploits and demeans women by making them objects of desire rather than cherished persons. It is precisely in this regard that the church must set the proper example and model for the culture exactly what it means to fulfill the Biblical command for men to honor women.
In John Patton’s autobiography of mission work in the New Hebrides islands during the 1800’s he gives a moving illustration as to how the missionaries sought to teach by example how to treat a woman.
John Patton moved to the New Hebrides islands in the mid 1800’s with his new wife and child. The natives on these islands were brutal murderers who also cannibalized their victims. They were especially brutal to women.
If a man died, his wife or wives would be strangled and buried with him. Many times at special events the men of the tribes would invade neighboring tribes to kidnap the women and children that they could roast them in their festive fires.
After a very short time, John’s wife and child were taken from him to glory because of disease. All alone, Patton continued to serve on the island and tried to teach the natives, not only the gospel of Jesus Christ, but also how to treat women. He desperately tried to get them to abolish the strangulation of widows.
He taught by example how to treat women with kindness. Whenever he would go into the woods to gather firewood, he would direct the men who were with him to carry the wood back to their camps while the women were expected to only carry the kindling. By doing these practical things, the Lord was slowly able to open their eyes to how heinous it is to treat women with brutality and slowly they began to embrace the Bible’s teaching.
So too- let us as Christian men always model this imperative- Treating our wives and daughters, and women around us with the honor they deserve, so our prayers are not hindered.
Because of grace,
Tim
