That Kind of Crazy

Be your own kind of crazy.  Just do it.

That's what Nike said on the ad that just came out.  The ad that featured athletic women.  The ad that targeted women in general.  The ad that screamed: you can be more, do better, stand alone, rise above, be something, above, beyond and beside anything or anyone else - including, men.

The imagery is powerful.  In a few seconds, you get blasted with a few words and images that string a lifetime, culminate a thousand hours, overcome a thousand failures.  It's inspiring because nothing hard comes natural and everything must be fought for.  

But, man, it's cheap. 

Cheap. Cheap. Cheap. 

Because those medals rust. Those people die. Those moments of triumph are just one, surrounded by a thousand of loss. Equality and women's rights aren't all they're cracked up to be.  And those concepts are totally empty when you flesh them out before God the Creator and Savior of all men and all women.

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Woman didn't exist. Then she did. That was a miracle. (Genesis 1:27)

Woman sinned and brought disaster into the world. Then she bore the only Life Giver. And that was a miracle. (Genesis 3:13, 15, Matthew 1:23)

Woman was lesser and second rate across the globe. Then she was given an eternal inheritance with the sons through the Gospel. And that was...amazing.  (Galatians 1:3-14)

Woman was cheap and enslaved to men. Then men were told, "Be like Christ and die for her." And that was...crazy.  (Ephesians 5:25-30, 1 Peter 3:7)

In a world that thinks women have to fight for everything, the Creator of the world gave her everything.  In a world that thinks women should be the same as men, God made her special.  In a world that thinks women need freedom from the responsibilities of womanhood and motherhood, God gave her the privilege.  In a world that is constantly pushing and shoving for possessions and power, women were picked to be prized and protected.  Women were chosen to represent the dearest possession of Jesus Christ: His bride, the Church, for whom He came to earth, died, and rose again, whose purity He fights and longs for.

Fulfillment is not found in running from God's design and blessing.  It is only found in rejecting the lies of the world and surrendering to the will of God in Scripture, pursuing Christ.

This means that a Christian woman accepts her identity as a woman and doesn't change that.  This means she believes that marriage is a good thing because God said so.  This means that she will love children because God calls them a blessing.  This means she will submit her desires and ambitions under these priorities because it's her glory.  It means that she'll accept godly authority and headship because they protect her.  It means that she'll serve her family, serve the church, serve the poor, take in orphans, speak wisdom, display kindness, fear God, raise warriors, open her doors and refuse to believe that success can be defined by every whim and wave and fad.  

She believes the Word of God.  She stakes her life on what He says.

Woman was never like man. Woman was never supposed to be. Woman was never lesser than man. She was never cheaper. But it is only because of the Gospel that she was put in her rightful place - loved, honored, protected, privileged.  And it is only through obedience to God and His Word that she will be happy, fulfilled and complete.  Winning a race or boxing match never does for a woman what God intends to do for her.

So Nike has a problem.  Because their definition of success will rot away.  And because athletic ability never did for woman what God did for her.  Someone (thoughtfully) asked, "Do I want my daughter to be beautiful or do I want her to be strong?"  But that was never the question.  Step out of Nike's paradigm.  

When you stand before God, you want every woman you know (including yourself) to be holy, set apart, devoted to God, adorned with truth, strong in the Lord "asking for nothing but what God wants to give me, receiving with both hands and with all my heart whatever that is (Elisabeth Elliot)." Your beauty can only reflect His.  Your strength can only magnify His.

So step back.  If you abandon what the world calls success, what will you lose?  

Absolutely nothing.

Get out of their paradigm.  Set yourself like flint to follow Jesus, and do it.  (Isaiah 50:7)

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I am for pumping iron and running far, for making goals and reaching them, for falling down and standing up, for facing mountains and climbing them.  I think all women should be.  But not because of a podium finish, and not because we're trying to beat the guys.  

We aim high because God is good and our lives are not our own. 

We aim high because chinadolls never changed the world and never raised families who did. 

We aim high because our men need us, our families need us, our communities need us.

We aim high because reaching the lost for Christ takes effort, courage and commitment - something forged, not inherited.

We aim high because we want every effort of our life to reflect the intensity of our pursuit of Christ.

We aim high because the world's standards are low, their vision is poor, their end is destruction.

We aim high because we want to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

We aim high because it is our privilege to exhaust ourselves for Jesus.

We aim high because what the world calls great just isn’t by comparison.

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Women are only great when they are willing to die to themselves and their dreams and live only to God.  That's how they make a mark on the world that lasts and matters.  

So just do it. 

The Cross before me,

The world behind me.

No turning back. 

Though none go with me,

Still I will follow. 

No turning back. 

Be that kind of crazy.  Be that kind of woman.