| "Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot" |
| ~August 20, 2003~ |
| I like "boys vs. girls" teasing/prodding as much as the next guy/girl, but I, personally, am getting tired of the "Boys are stupid; throw rocks at them" mentality that is rampant these days. This mentality goes hand-in-hand with the "Princess" motif floating around tween-aimed stores like "Claire's" and "Gadzooks". Girls are getting slammed from all sides - clothing, TV, magazines - all telling them that they should be spoiled, the center-of attention, and that boys (never EVER referred to as men or even young men) are here to do one of two things: annoy us or serve us (or sometimes a combination of both). This diseased way of thinking needs to be stopped, and the Church needs to be on the front lines. Men, boys, males - whichever word you choose, they are as worthy of love and respect as women (girls, females) are. They are precious to God, and they should be precious to us too, ladies. Yes, it's frustrating sometimes when they do things we don't like or understand, but we can be frustrating to them (a lot!) in our own ways. But those differences that frustrate also excite; they make life interesting, and enhance our normal, everyday interactions. God created them male and female for a reason (and it wasn't in anticipation of Survivor: The Amazon). God created Eve to compliment Adam - neither is complete without the other. And don't try to turn that into a "single is bad" statement. Single or married, we were made to be in relationships with other people - not "girls only", not "boys only". That kind of thinking is reserved for the elementary school playground (where, I'm told, Cooties is still a contagion of epidemic proportions). It's time to grow up, folks. How can we hope to follow Jesus' command to love our neighbor if we restrict that definition to "same-sex neighbors only"? We may as well restrict it further by race, religion, creed, orientation, or stance on personal hygiene. Why not? Because it's not an option. There is no exception to the rule, "Love your neighbor as yourself." NEWS FLASH: There is nothing inherently evil about being male or female. There may be individuals from either camp whose behavior warrants less than no respect. But you cannot try and condemn the entire male (or female) population for the "sins" of that one individual any more than I can try and condemn you for assassinating Abraham Lincoln! All I'm saying is, "Give peace a chance." No, wait, that wasn't it... Oh, "Give each other a chance!" In ALL your relationships, demonstrate Christ-likeness, so that the world will know that you are his disciples. So here's to 3 channels of ESPN and finding humor in bodily functions. And here's to chocolate and "chick flicks". Teach the girls how to belch and the boys how to cry, and we can all live "happily ever after". |