“We hope the first grandchild is a boy!” The father of the bride lifted his glass towards his beautiful daughter and her new husband.
I put my champagne glass down and looked at the three brothers of the bride. Two of the brothers gave their parents a really rough time trying to grow up. The bride is the pride and joy of her parents, she has a successful career, manages 250 people, and has rung the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
“We hope the first grandchild is a boy!”
A roomful of women have just been devalued. Not purposefully. Not maliciously, and certainly with no premeditated forethought.
That is just the way it is. That is also just the way it is in church. We devalue our women and our girls and do not even realize that we have done it.
This week as we move toward Good Friday and Easter, let us remember that Jesus valued women. Jesus is heading toward Calvary where He will lay down his life for men and for women. That sacrifice is equal toward all. Equal sacrifice for men and women means that we are equally responsible and privileged to serve our Savior.
Will you join me as we tell others that men and women are equal in the church and in the home because of the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. Meet me at the CBE Houston conference on April 27-28, 2012 at the Heights Church of Christ Church.
bWe Baptist Women for Equality's Blog 
I can’t imagine someone saying this at a wedding in the Pacific Northwest. It makes me wonder if there is more institutionalized sexism in the South, and maybe that’s part of why the SBC gets away with all it does? The SBC churches in other parts of the country don’t seem to be in lockstep with the Council.
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Of course I live in the south, but I believe that the attitude “I want a boy” is prevalent all across the world. Girl fetuses are aborted, girls are left to starve, and all manner of things are allowed to happen to girls. For years I have wondered if people don’t realize that when they say “We want a boy” that they are reflecting the same attitudes against women that we find in churches, such as what you describe.
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Probably so– but it does seem to be different here.
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That is encouraging! I think we need to hear those words. Thanks so much. I admit that the South is very closed minded. About lots of things.
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