Probably the most wicked lie of all is that children stand in the way of a woman’s purpose and self-satisfaction. There is no doubt that our culture holds children in derision, for they are literally sacrificed through abortion in the name of self-advancement. Children bear the brunt of “progressive ideas” that disrupt the pattern that God has designed. We tell ourselves that they are resilient, too young to notice, or they need to be conditioned away from societal norms that are outdated and too restrictive. The truth is that our homes are meant to be a haven, a place of protection and stability from the outside storms.
Who would have expected that a little college in Kansas could be the source of such cultural outrage? On May 11th, 2024, Harrison Butker, Superbowl champ and an unapologetic Catholic man, delivered the commencement address at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. In his speech, he spoke boldly about his convictions rooted in his Catholic faith. Butker addressed or alluded to many moral hot topics in our culture today, but the one that is getting the most visceral attention are the comments he made about the value of women choosing, as a primary vocation, the role of a homemaker.
I have to admit, Butker’s remarks on the value of homemaking is not what you would typically expect in a commencement address to a graduating class in 2024. The backlash has been vicious outside this small Catholic community. His remarks clearly hit a primal nerve. The response reveals how little value our culture places on motherhood, children and home life. Being a homemaker as a primary vocation is seen as outdated – even demeaning – and unfulfilling for a woman. This attitude makes me grieve for the next generation.
As I attend multiple graduation ceremonies this season, I wonder if our young Christian women are prepared for the onslaught of subtle and not so subtle messages that will pull their hearts away from building a Christian home as a primary vocation. As Christian women, many of us homemakers, how do we prepare our daughters and granddaughters so that they see the significance and beauty of our design and purpose as it is displayed in our vocation as homemakers?
“Diabolical Lies”
In his speech, Butker says to the women in the audience, “I want to speak directly to you briefly because I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you.” I would summarize his comments in this way: These “diabolical lies” are rooted in the disregard of the value of being a wife and mother as a primary vocation. To pull back the curtain further, there are deeper lies that have led to that disregard:
- Women are interchangeable to men and that the distinctions between men and women are unimportant,
- The home is a secondary pursuit,
- Self-fulfillment is the highest moral goal, and
- Children get in the way of a woman’s success.
Before a lie can exist, truth must exist. The Scriptures direct us to what is true about who we are as women. We must start with what God says about the value of women; we do not need to cobble together a “modern” sort of category that helps us navigate who we are in the 21st century. God’s word is sufficient for us to gain a clear, foundational understanding of who we are as women even as the world is changing all around us.
Truth Defines Lies
Honestly, I wonder how many of us who claim to be Christians truly look to the Scriptures to understand our value. I’ve read and heard many messages about Creation and fall of man and woman in the Garden as recorded in Genesis 1-3. It grieves me that the familiarity of that passage can breed ennui or how I so quickly forget who God says I am. But we must go back to the beginning – we must! Before we examine the lie, we must first see the truth.
So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Gen. 1:27-28)
God created man and woman in His own image. He imprinted upon us the image of His character, to reflect His glory and be His representatives in the world He created. Being made in His image gives all humans worth, dignity, and value. God gave to both men and women a purpose to steward all the splendors of His creation and the means to subdue it. It needs to be said again: God’s design for women was never of less value, dignity or purpose than men.
That does not mean we were made without distinctions. God made man both male and female. In His wisdom, He made His most marvelous creation – human beings – in two distinct categories, and together, male and female best reflect the fullness of the image of God. He gave man the primary role of provider and protector. He gave to the woman the primary role of life bearer and helper. This is the pattern that He established at the beginning. It was “very good” and afterwards, God rested from all His work (Gen 2:2). He was satisfied.
Yet, are we? As Christian women, do we draw our identity from this truth?