Submitted Article as a contributing writer for "Family Face Ministries"

Contributing Writer for Family Face Ministries

The Deceptive Battle Cry is Truly an Outcry
Written by: Teresa Criswell

"Women Rule!"

When I saw this slogan a few months ago in a news article, my heart sank. I shook my head in sadness. If I would have seen this slogan ten years ago, I know I most likely would have held my head up high, arrogantly sniffed my nose, clearing my throat and saying, “That’s right! Women rule!”

Although, I am blessed to be a woman and I LOVE being a woman; this is a slogan I do not want to be associated with. For when we see a woman ruling alone, versus ruling with man, most of the time this is a sure sign that a man has relinquished his role and right as ruler. This deceptive slogan, “Women rule” is an outcry not a battle cry. This unknowing outcry reveals the neglect of man’s rightful role not standing in their God given abilities to be Protector, Conqueror, Provider and King.

Have you walked in the power that we as women possess? Look at Jezebel. Yes. I said, “Jezebel”. That almost sounds blasphemous, doesn’t it? Yet, because King Ahab relinquished the role of courage and bravery of holding fast to what was right and true, the role of the manipulating spirit of this woman was able to rule. This is a reminder that the power we hold must not be misused. We are to take this power that has been given to us, not for our glory. However, we must realize with action that we are to assist the men and awaken the Protector, The Conqueror, The Provider and The King that is within them. We must awaken the men, whether they are husbands, fathers, sons and/or brothers and with administrative power encourage and edify, resurrecting back to life the heaven meets earth power of what it looks like to truly have dominion.

So what does it look like to rule ‘with’ man versus ruling alone? As a wife, I must speak and declare that my husband is a mighty man of valor. This is crucial to those who may not see this at all. I must pray to God that my husband’s will bows down to the will of God, executing righteousness and justice for every situation assisted by God’s Wisdom. I must realize that the words that flow out of my mouth must be intentional words of life so that the temptation for my husband to relinquish or misuse his role would be zero.

If we look back just three or four generations as a whole; we see the dwindling role of man ruling effectively. Notice one of the number one attributes of a man is to be a protector. A protector keeps what they already possess. A protector guards what is precious and valuable and those who are valued seize the responsibility to maintain what must be kept. When the attribute of protection begins to dissipate, yet the role of conqueror remains, we find that the results can be devastating. When the ruler no longer sees the value of what they have or been entrusted with, then they do not see the value to keep or to guard, so they will leave behind and continue to conquer, revealing barbaric results.

Do you see the echo of this in our society today? We have seen the heart wrenching effects as many have been abandoned, left behind and deemed useless and invaluable because of the lack of being kept. What has been revealed in turn is the walls of the city have tumbled to the ground. A city with no walls, allow precious people to become prey to the warriors of death revealing the lack of protection.

So how do we hear what should be the God given slogan, “Mighty, courageous, protecting men rule as the virtuous women rule by their side”? We will see this as we hold up the arms of our tired warriors. We must encourage not nag. We must build up not tear down. We must have faith in God that our men will echo a glimpse of the All in All Protector, Conqueror, Provider and King, Almighty God.

Therefore, we are to assist in the dreams that our men have within their spirits as given by God. We do not want to break their spirit, but remind them of those dreams. Even though many times we do not know the how or when those dreams are fulfilled; we must actively assist the men in seeing the fulfillment of their dreams come to fruition, resurrecting new life for “a dream fulfilled is a tree of life”.

Scripture References: Proverbs 2:7, I Kings 18-21, Proverbs 25:28, Proverbs 13:21