Crafting your own Gender Code

Why do gender distinctions matter? Because they reveal God. Fatherhood. A Mother’s Love. The Bride and Bridegroom. The Jealous Lover. The Kinsman Redeemer. The Defender. Protector. Provider.

All the interplay of husbands, wives, parents, children, and clans points to God. We were designed to reflect God, and our relationships reveal His nature. Or they don't — because deviation from the created order defaces His image and violates His glory.

So what do these distinctives and deviations look like in today’s context? Here’s a sample list of gender behaviors. If you had to populate the gender scale we described yesterday, where would you put these examples?

Girls . . .
— Opening a Facebook chat box with a guy
— Texting a guy
— Taking leadership of the youth group Bible study or prayer time
— Saying no to the wrong kind of guy even though he’s the first to pursue you
— Walking past a mirror and reminding yourself where true beauty comes from
— Scanning the social network sites for an emotional hook-up
— Choosing the more modest of two outfits

Guys . . .
— Pornography
— Asking a girl an open-ended question to know her better
— Second looks
— Forging an accountable relationship with another guy (honesty and confession)
— Rating girls in your mind or with your friends
— Training yourself to look beyond appearance to the story of a girl’s life
— Dressing up as girls for a Halloween party at school

These examples represent only one thin slice of worldwide culture. We would really like to know what you’ve observed where you live. How do men and women reflect well upon God’s image, and what trends deviate from His image? Please leave a comment and tell us what you see.