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This biblical difference between women and men.  The who is the spiritual head of the household … the who can hold positions of leadership in the church … the “just what does the bible say” debates that go on for all eternity …

Sitting here catching the sun is a great place to people-watch.  Even stripped down to just a swimming costume (plus accessories) is revealing.  With the blokes it is really a choice between two styles: speedos under the swimming shorts – or just swimming shorts.  Pot-bellies or muscled six-packs are not where it’s at.  Both are worn without much regard for the rest of the beach population.  As for “accessories” … it is the choice between no t-shirt or any t-shirt.  Usually no t-shirt.  There is a simplicity on display that says so much about male hard-wiring: “Looking good today,” and off we go.

The women are an ongoing fascination.

Instagram influence seems to be universal.  The obligatory look for recent-motherhood is to reclaim a taut washer-board physique before even breast-feeding. For motherhood must not be an obstacle to wearing the same bikinis, the same carefully selected wisp of perfectly fitting and styled beach-wear, the same perfectly styled and manicured hair-face-nails as any catwalk model.  I find the perfect body-look with the baby-buggy an odd combination.

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I guess that sounds terribly sexist and old-fashioned.  And maybe it is.  But the driving force behind my new-found fascination is simple.

I have a real sense of shame that our world – led by men with pot-bellies or six-packs – who regard body-image as someone else’s concern – who expect their women to look good whether with child or without … That this 50% of the population in “positions of leadership” have influenced 50% of the population to believe that a taut-body and perfect styling is the measure of success – that childbirth is no reason to “let yourself go” – and (for me the biggest shame of all) that “strong independent women” (with taut bodies and perfect styling) have now become the role-models for instagrammed and selfied perfection (no men’s influence required).

Because women now judge women on instagrammed perfection.  And men now expect it (as we wander around without a body-image care in the world).  All this is now “normal”.

Against that cultural shift, I believe the bible shouldn’t be used to reinforce “culture”.  I believe the bible should be the reason for embracing a different culture.   A culture of love without condition … a culture of each is sacred … a culture of all have value … a culture wherein how I look, what I wear, where I live, who I live with, how I speak, how much I earn, whether I “serve” (or not), whether I give (enough) or not … none of that matters.  And that includes being gender-blind.  Being “success”-blind.  Being “of this world”-blind.

Man has no right to be head of anything.  Nor has woman.

Love without condition is “rights”-blind.  Love without condition is blind to everything but seeing the best in each.  And that cannot be instagrammed or selfied.  Love without condition is “image”-blind.  Which means – to take this to its loving conclusion –

Love without condition is bible-blind as well.

So I wonder more and more … isn’t being “biblically correct” the very definition of not loving without condition? And isn’t that the very definition of being biblically incorrect?    Because it is “men” who ruled that scriptural and biblical correctness comes before even love – and now women also believe that as well.

Which is all a pile of cultural biblical bollocks!

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