Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: EQUALITY (08/17/23)
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TITLE: Surprising Inequality | Previous Challenge Entry
By Em Bonja
08/23/23 -
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Please don’t tell anyone
I am writing this
Keep it under your hat.
In many of our churches
A woman can be side-lined
Just like that.
* * *
I know of many churches
Where men mostly talk to men
And women keep their places
Setting aside their acumen.
Don’t they know I get bored
Chatting of shopping and eating out?
Don’t they know I have ideas
That might sometimes help things out?
Am I only knowledgeable
Regarding children, food, and teas?
Can’t I offer my advice
Participating on church committees?
I’ve noticed that this attitude
Has spilled into our homes.
I know many a woman
Yearning to be more than a poem.
We’re like the train that’s lost its whistle
Careening headlong through the night,
Like the bird whose chirp’s disabled
Though it’s meant to sing in flight.
Like a mother singing to her babe
Though her lips move without sound,
And the comfort that is needed
Can no longer be found.
Like the faithfulness of oceans
Crashing onto earthen shore,
Making their appearance
Without their rhythmic roar.
Like the plaintive beauty of the violin
Whose strings are cut and broke,
And the haunting chords of heartstrings
Can no longer be evoked.
Our churches are much poorer
When the rules are multiplied
To cover every avenue
To spread restrictions far and wide.
Our homes reflect this tragedy
With some women afraid to speak;
Their wisdom is therefore missing
As husband’s approval they seek.
I’ve seen women live in agony
As they try to live without a voice.
They are convinced that in their own home
They’re destined to have no choice.
EPILOGUE
Though not true in every church or home,
Believe me, it’s really there;
It hides behind facades and smiles
And prods us all to learn to care.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)
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I suspect those who advocate such suppression would even argue with Jesus if He were to veil His sovereignty, appear and proceed to show respect to a woman’s opinion before a man’s.
We fight this battle on our knees in prayer.
I enjoyed the sweetness in your poem.