Perfection
I'll never forget the moment.
The conference plans had changed - the men were called away - so, after lunch, the speaker found himself standing in front of a gymnasium filled entirely with women—all sitting quietly, watching him.
“No men?” he observed, with an unexpected glint of mischief in his eyes.
Then he stepped off the stage. “Perhaps this is the perfect time for me to tell you a secret that we men will never admit to....”
He had us—completely—in the palm of his hand.
“You’ve been deceived,” he said. “We’ve let you believe that you’re the inferior species. But the truth is—we know you’re far superior.”
We knew he was teasing, maybe even mocking us a little. But he had us spellbound.
Then he took us back to the Garden of Eden, walking us through the creation story, reminding us how God had surveyed His work at the end of each day and said, “It is good.”
But then when it came Adam - he realized he had made a mistake. “And God saw that it was not good for man to be alone.”
Adam wasn't perfect!! Imagine that!
“In other words,” he said, “Eve was the pinnacle of creation. The masterpiece. The final touch. She was the perfect one.” Eve was the final perfection!
And then, with a glimmer in his eye, he concluded: “And why else would the Serpent approach Eve first and not Adam?”
The room broke into laughter and knowing smiles.
We were easily convinced.
I had grown up with this quote etched into my memory: “Women were created from the rib of man to be beside him—not from his head to top him, nor from his feet to be trampled by him, but from under his arm to be protected by him, near to his heart to be loved by him.” —Matthew Henry
This thought was beautiful. Poetic. But in reality—growing up in a conservative church—the message felt was very different. We as women were constantly diminished. Rarely allowed to teach - never preaching behind the pulpit. Often overlooked - treated like an afterthought. Certainly not like the crown jewel of creation.
What really did happen in the Garden?
And why do we still wonder who is superior?
Why do we still make senseless jokes about it? Why does this make us smile and wince at the same time? “Men are superior to women—for one thing, they can urinate from a speeding car.” -—Will Durst
It is the battle of the sexes that has inspired great works of art -- and the best comedy. However - in the end we are all still suffering in it - as it remains unresolved.
“In essence, you are neither inferior nor superior to anyone. True self-esteem and true humility arise out of that realization. In the eyes of the ego, self-esteem and humility are contradictory. In truth, they are one and the same.” ― Eckhart Tolle
The conference plans had changed - the men were called away - so, after lunch, the speaker found himself standing in front of a gymnasium filled entirely with women—all sitting quietly, watching him.
“No men?” he observed, with an unexpected glint of mischief in his eyes.
Then he stepped off the stage. “Perhaps this is the perfect time for me to tell you a secret that we men will never admit to....”
He had us—completely—in the palm of his hand.
“You’ve been deceived,” he said. “We’ve let you believe that you’re the inferior species. But the truth is—we know you’re far superior.”
We knew he was teasing, maybe even mocking us a little. But he had us spellbound.
Then he took us back to the Garden of Eden, walking us through the creation story, reminding us how God had surveyed His work at the end of each day and said, “It is good.”
But then when it came Adam - he realized he had made a mistake. “And God saw that it was not good for man to be alone.”
Adam wasn't perfect!! Imagine that!
“In other words,” he said, “Eve was the pinnacle of creation. The masterpiece. The final touch. She was the perfect one.” Eve was the final perfection!
And then, with a glimmer in his eye, he concluded: “And why else would the Serpent approach Eve first and not Adam?”
The room broke into laughter and knowing smiles.
We were easily convinced.
I had grown up with this quote etched into my memory: “Women were created from the rib of man to be beside him—not from his head to top him, nor from his feet to be trampled by him, but from under his arm to be protected by him, near to his heart to be loved by him.” —Matthew Henry
This thought was beautiful. Poetic. But in reality—growing up in a conservative church—the message felt was very different. We as women were constantly diminished. Rarely allowed to teach - never preaching behind the pulpit. Often overlooked - treated like an afterthought. Certainly not like the crown jewel of creation.
What really did happen in the Garden?
And why do we still wonder who is superior?
Why do we still make senseless jokes about it? Why does this make us smile and wince at the same time? “Men are superior to women—for one thing, they can urinate from a speeding car.” -—Will Durst
It is the battle of the sexes that has inspired great works of art -- and the best comedy. However - in the end we are all still suffering in it - as it remains unresolved.
“In essence, you are neither inferior nor superior to anyone. True self-esteem and true humility arise out of that realization. In the eyes of the ego, self-esteem and humility are contradictory. In truth, they are one and the same.” ― Eckhart Tolle
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