I had the opportunity to speak with a friend on Wednesday regarding a situation she experienced with a gentleman she recently met at a social outing. My friend is a well educated woman, with an extraordinary writing gift and an unusual command of the English language. That's a simple way of saying that the average brother may need a pocket dictionary in order to keep up with some of the terminology that may surface during conversation. She and this gentleman had good dialog during their time of interaction and she perceived this gentleman as someone who had future potential. At the conclusion of the event, the gentleman asked my friend for her number so they could stay in touch. She welcomed the invitation and handed him a business card inclusive of her contact information and doctoral degree candidacy. She never disclosed this information (doctoral degree candidacy) to her blue-collar working counterpart during their conversation, and his reaction to the information on her business card was one of shock. She hasn't heard from him since and wonders if he was intimidated by her level of education.
1. Should women or men camouflage their education level in order to make others feel comfortable?
2. With an ever-increasing gap in education being experienced between women and men, are women now positioning themselves for fewer relationship opportunities?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
.jpg)
2 comments:
Short and simple I am going to try…
Should women or men camouflage their education...?
My answer would be no. We as believers should be comfortable in the facts that we are all wonderfully and fearfully made and we are more than conquers. We should have as much love and respect for ourselves as our Creator has for us. My Life Application Bible puts it this way; we have to face hardships in many different forms (intimidation). But the shouting news is we can never be separated from Christ. His death for us is proof of his unconquerable love. Nothing can stop his constant presence in us. God tells us how great his love is so that we will feel totally secure in him (For God so loved the world…John 3:16). If we believe these assurances, then we will not be afraid (or intimidated).
Why hide your blessing/gift. If that education yielded your gift from the Holy Spirit then it was not designed for our own purpose or enjoyment (to hide it) but to be sharpened and used for God’s purpose and in way that builds up the Army of Christ. And if his gift comes from him being a blue collar worker then it is not something to be embarrassed about but celebrated and honored and used for God’s purpose. We can not all be doctors or lawyers someone has to be garbage collectors and clean public restrooms. Life without any of those professions I can’t even imagine! God’s Word says that we all have gifts different/varying gifts but all of the same Spirit. There are different ways that God can work through us but it is the same God who uses us. We use those gifts with a common goal insight and her gift may build him in some area and his gift may develop her in another. But with each believer using their gift for the Glory of God then the body of Christ is made stronger. The woman above has been blessed with educational opportunities and if she is using/pursuing that education to the best of her ability (in excellence)then God gets the Glory and He is pleased. And the same holds true for the gentleman, blue collar worker or not if the gentleman is doing his job in excellence then God gets the Glory and He is pleased. They are both operating under the umbrella of faith in Christ. If these two individuals enjoyed their conversation what does matter that he was a blue collar worker and she was a doctoral candidate. In Christ we are one body just different/many members. No one believer is better than another. We are the body of Christ and the body can not function accordingly if we were all made to be eyes because then we would not be able to walk, think, talk, hear, breathe and the list goes on. My Life Application Bible says that we should not look down on those who seem unimportant and we should not be jealous of others who have impressive gifts. Instead we use the gifts we have been given to encourage others to use theirs. If we don’t then the body of believers becomes less effective.
I said I was going to make this short….Ha can’t happen
With an ever-increasing gap in education being experienced between women...?
Nope can’t happen either (like me being of few words).One thing I know for sure is that no matter how high God allows me to fly I can never fly outside His radar. What God has for me it is for me. God has a purpose and plan for my life and if that purpose includes a relationship/marriage then God knows just where to find me because he put me there. Everything I own I have not because of me but because God allowed me to be steward over it. I know God as the God who sees (El Roi) he knows my circumstances, my provider (Jehovah-jireh) my way out of no way, The Lord my Banner (Jehovah-nissi) he reigns in victory, The Lord My Shepherd (Jehovah-raah) I shall not want, The Lord who is There (Jehovah-shammah) If I ascend up in heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou are there (Psalm 139:8)…the List goes on and on. After all it is him that does the mate finding not me so wherever I am God’s got it covered! As believers, it should be our desire for God to get the glory and we walk in our purpose and for some there gift comes from there education and if God continues to bless that woman above through her education/ career then she should not be in the business of turning down blessings. If a successful woman is called into a relationship/courtship/marriage then her career/education should not be looked at as negative but overflow of blessings for that relationship/union nor should a man be looked down upon if his career success does not match hers or vice versa. It does not mean the other is not a success because one is no better than the other. There are of course other factors to consider with family/education/career but another topic another day.
With the situation above I am realizing that the gentleman might have been looking at the wrong information. If he was intimidated then that is focusing on the negative but may I suggest focusing on the blessing. If they enjoyed the dialogue and she welcomed the invitation then here is the reality. The information on the card was that woman’s blessing (her education) but his blessing came not from what was on the card but the action that came with the card, when she handed her card to him to continue the conversation. I wonder how many times, do we miss our blessings because at first glance we look at (or focus) on the wrong information.
Great discussion.
1. Should women or men camouflage their education level in order to make others feel comfortable?
Can camouflage and true friendship dwell together? You can't control who is comfortable around you. But we can challenge ourselves. Is my identity completely tied into my educational attainment. I've met people like that. Where they wear their degree like a badge of great social acceptance. We have to make sure that we don't play the 'class game' that is endemic to the American system.
2. With an ever-increasing gap in education being experienced between women and men, are women now positioning themselves for fewer relationship opportunities?
I think we need to first ask what is a true and faithful friendship. From there the answer will be obvious.
Post a Comment