I began a practice while still quite young of treating every human that I meet on their own. I almost always initially allow some level of trust. Then they can prove their character one way or another. I never seek revenge, but there are many I’ve chosen to stay away from rather than get argumentative or angry.
Gender matters not. Nor race, age, ethnicity, disability. I’ve just never had occasion to doubt what the writers in the Bible tell us about all of us being children of God. He loves each of us. He, according to Paul in Romans, has already worked for us.
This month has been set aside by someone as International Women’s month, and I guess I missed International Women’s Day. I’m not good at these observances. But since it came into my awareness, I thought I should consider how many have misinterpreted the role of women in the New Testament.
I think of Jesus bantering with the Syro-Phoenician woman. Probably unheard of action of a rabbi. He was touched by an “unclean” woman, she was healed. He was now ceremonially unclean. But that didn’t bother him. He treated her as a child of God. He dealt compassionately with Mary Magdalene and the woman caught in adultery. His relationships with Mary and Martha may not have been too surprising, but that his followers wrote those stories is amazing.
There is more. And although patriarchists cite sentences from Paul to support male domination, try reading his letters completely. How he cites and complements women leaders in the early movement. How he told women that it was OK to pray in the assembly (the head covering thing is totally misinterpreted).
Respect and uphold the women in your life. They are children of God loved by him.
Faith Venture 
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