It seems like every day another man in a position of power or fame is being called out for disrespectful behavior toward women. It’s a Hollywood executive yesterday, a news anchor today, and the local youth leader tomorrow. Everyone is looking around in confusion, wondering how we got here. How did we get to a place where people feel the need to wear shirts stating that their life matters? How did we get to a place where men are using women instead of protecting them?

Thousands of words will be written on the topic of men harassing women. Was is it pornography, was it repression of women in workplaces, was it provocative clothing trends, was it technology dehumanizing social interactions, was it lack of HR training sessions….what was it? The era of Hugh Hefner is over and confusing pieces are left in his wake.

But hear this: this confusing chaos is NOT just a white male executive problem, and its actually not even a new problem; it’s a human problem.  The strong have been oppressing the weak since, well…ever.

The word “oppression” means unjust treatment or control. The world longs to be free of oppression and so these are the themes we hear shouted from 140 characters of Twitter: It’s the fault of the president, It’s the fault of the 1%, It’s the fault of white men, It’s the fault of black men, It’s the fault of unprotected sex, It’s the fault of bullies, It’s the fault of ______.  The finger pointing is limitless. Our culture launches campaigns in response: StopBullying, SafeSex, BlackLivesMatter, MeToo, TheWomen’sMarch, Occupy, NotMyPresident. And yet, here we still are.

Our longing to be rid of oppression is really a longing for justice and freedom. These concepts are written on the hearts of humanity because they are written on the heart of our creator. God is the source of justice and He is the source of freedom from sin and evil. Why then do we look for justice and freedom apart from God?

The hearts of people will never be changed by well-intentioned marketing campaigns. We can write laws and set household rules that limit behavior, but it’s not enough.

C.S.Lewis wrote “You cannot make men good by law: and without good men you cannot have a good society.”

Our society is in need of a few good men (and women), but the only thing that will change our hearts is sitting at the feet of God, learning who He is and who He has made us to be. 

If we want our boys to become men who respect the life of a women over their own self-interest, we need to teach them God’s character. If we want our girls to become women who respect the life growing inside them over their own self-interest, we need to teach them God’s character. If we want our future leaders to serve the lives beneath them instead of their own self-interest, we need to teach them God’s character.

MeToo is a start. Laws that protect the weak are a start. But it’s not enough. We need to take our own hearts and the hearts of our children to the Source of Justice, to learn from Him how to love the lives of others and how to lay down our own self-interests.

1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (NIV)

Telling our boys to respect women is important. Setting rules to help them respect women is important. But teaching them to love like Jesus…teaching our boys and our girls to reflect the character of God…THAT is enough to change the world.

Teach your kids the character of God with The Attributes of God for Kids. This bright, engaging devotional or curriculum resource is for kids ages 4-11.