Note: This is a guest post written by Leann Williams, a Christian author, song writer and speaker. This topic is timely and I really don’t think I could have said it any better. She goes to the scripture to for her answer.
With so much discussion surrounding the role and responsibility of women in the church following the Southern Baptist Convention’s affirmation that the office of pastor is reserved for men, I feel compelled to share my heart on a subject I care deeply about.
From the very beginning, woman was never an afterthought in God’s design. She was created intentionally, purposefully, and lovingly. Genesis 2:18 tells us, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” God did not create woman because something went wrong. He created woman because His creation was not yet complete.
The same Bible that teaches women are not to “usurp authority over a man” (1 Timothy 2:12) also declares, “There is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). These truths are not in conflict. They complement one another. Two things can be true at once, and the Word of God never contradicts itself.
Throughout Scripture, women are honored, respected, trusted, and used mightily by God.
Deborah judged Israel.
Esther helped save an entire nation.
Ruth demonstrated extraordinary faithfulness—so much so that God preserved her story in an entire book of the Bible.
Mary was chosen to carry the Savior of the world.
Priscilla helped instruct others in the truth.
The Proverbs 31 woman is portrayed as strong, wise, dignified, industrious, influential, and God-fearing.
And then there is Jesus.
In a culture that often marginalized women, Jesus elevated them. He spoke with them publicly. He taught them. He welcomed their devotion. He encouraged their ministry. He met Mary and Martha in their home. He spoke life and hope to the woman at the well. He defended the woman caught in adultery. And after His resurrection, He appeared first to women and entrusted them with the glorious news that He was alive.
What a Savior.
I have often reflected on how God met many men in dramatic ways—in burning bushes, on mountaintops, and in the wilderness. Yet so often, He met women right where they were—in their homes, at wells, in moments of grief, in places of shame, and in ordinary life. He saw them. He knew them. He valued them.
The world often teaches that equality means interchangeability—that if two things are equal, they must be the same. Scripture teaches something different. God’s design is not sameness; it is complementarity. Men and women are not identical, yet both bear the image of God. They are different in role and responsibility, but equal in importance and value.
I will say it again:
Different in role and responsibility. Equal in importance and value.
Far from oppressing women, the Bible liberates women. It tells me that my worth is not found in competing with men, imitating men, or proving that I can do everything a man can do. My worth is found in Christ.
I am loved by God.
I am valued by God.
I am cared for by God.
I am free through Jesus Christ.
I do not need to occupy every role to possess immeasurable worth.
Proverbs 31:30 reminds us, “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.”
Biblical womanhood is not small. It is not insignificant. It is not second-class.
It is weighty.
It is honored.
It is influential.
It is powerful.
It is purposeful.
And it is beautiful.
I thank God that He created me a woman. I praise Him that I have the privilege of serving Him as a woman. I would not want it any other way.
May we stop measuring our value by the world’s standards and instead embrace the dignity, purpose, and calling God has graciously given us.
What God has designed is good. What God has called good, I will celebrate.