Virtue is not just for Women

Is there anything more lovely, than a virtuous woman? Yes, I think so. How about a virtuous man?  

The Thesaurus describes the word "Virtuous" as: Righteous, good, pure, whiter than white, saintly, angelic, moral, ethical, upright, upstanding, high-minded, principled, exemplary, irreproachable, blameless, guiltless, unimpeachable, immaculate, honest, honorable, reputable, laudable, decent, respectable, worthy, meritorious, noble, squeaky clean. 

I know that virtue is not something that is valued in today's society, but it should be. Virtue is something that women should highly value and treasure, in themselves. But not only in themselves -- in men, also. 

How beautiful and admirable, is a virtuous man? 

A virtuous man is a sight to behold. And YES they do exist! 

Women are beautiful, noble, creatures. Women can be considered amongst the angels on earth. Women should receive respect and honor, when they act worthy of it. Women should be placed on a pedestal, not above men, but next to them. They should be close enough that they can hold each others hands, and work together, side by side -- equally yoked together with their different roles, but maintaining proper balance so the cart of life they are carrying does not tip over. 

There is no doubt that a virtuous woman is amongst God's noblest creations. 

But being virtuous, and noble, is not just for women. It is for men, too. 

Our modern society seems to be at war with men -- constantly tearing them down, and making them appear to be weak and foolish, and driven by carnal desires. So much of the media portrays men as barbaric, dumb, incapable, and I think many men are starting to believe it, and lose heart. 

We are violently ripping our valiant princes off of their noble steeds. We remove their armor, take away their strength, and denounce their courage. We take away all their power and capacity. We reduce them to rubble. So how can we expect them to save the day? 

And don't tell me you can live without men, ladies, because it would only take one generation before total extinction of humans to prove that we do, in fact, need men. Yes, we need them, a lot. 

And we should love them, a lot! 

There are women today that are trying to make themselves not just "equal" to men, but superior. Women scrape, and claw, and fight, to have this respect from society that they want so badly, and yet in the "scrapping" they defile that which is most admirable about women, and they become the very barbarians that they seem to so despise. Women are acting like foolish little "Delilah's". They prance around -- running with scissors in their hands -- ready to cut down the giants among men. A little snip here, a little snip there  . . . POOF! Strength removal, complete. 

I am a woman, and I think men are wonderful. I hold men in the highest esteem. I have been blessed to have good men in my life. I have known a few duds, certainly, but generally -- I believe men are good. They are great. They are glorious, terrific, fantastic, magnificent creatures. My heart bursts with how much I love the men in my life. And my boys -- my three sons -- how I cherish them, and stand in awe of their splendor. I honor them, and you better believe I will teach them to honor women, and men too. 

We do absolutely no good, as women, if we do not take the time to build men up, to love them, to cherish them, to let them know we think they are fantastic, and wonderful. We need to tell the men in our lives that we know they are capable of great things. Men need praise and complements just as much as women do! Maybe even more so, and especially in the world we live now. 

I think women are amazing. I think men are amazing. We are both amazing! 

We are both divine and miraculous creations of God. And we both can live worthy of the respect that we so desire. We are, of course, not entitled to respect just by being a man or a woman -- we have to earn it by our actions, and the way we conduct our lives. 

As for being "equal" . . . yes we are equally loved in the sight of God. Just as I love my sons and daughter equally. But men and women are not "Equal". The definition of Equal is:  identical, uniform, alike, like, the same, equivalent; matching, even, comparable, similar, corresponding. 

The last time I checked, I am not "identical" to my husband, my father, or my brothers. Nope, there are some great differences there. We are different, and that is SUPER! I do not need to go into how we are different, you can use your imagination for that one . . . but the reality is: Men and Women are NOT the same. You can except that, or you can continue fighting against a reality that is as old as time itself. 

As for me, and my house, we love and respect men, and we love and respect women. We also love and respect the very great differences between men and women. Don't get me wrong, I can (sometimes) beat my husband at chess, and I can (sometimes) even keep up with him when we run together. I am pretty darn competitive, and I fancy myself a strong woman. (Watch out, I know Karate!) 

We do not need to fight about our male/female differences, we should try to strengthen and complement them. I know that my husband has strengths that I do not have, and I have strengths that are not his. In my house I mow the lawn, and Charles is a master at doing the dishes. We take turns, and there is not a "his and hers" chore list. It is not about the things we do, as much as it is the roles we fill. It is not about who is better, or more qualified. My husband often astonishes me with his ability to nurture the children, and fold the laundry. And had I so desired, I could have gone to law school and been an attorney. The capacity to do both is there within each of us -- to be the provider and the nurturer. 

But that is not the point. It is not about what we can, or cannot do -- but what we have been asked to do, by God. (You can read The Proclamation to the World to understand my beliefs in that regard.) I know that not all circumstance accommodate the "ideal", but an ideal must be in place, none-the-less. There must be something to strive for. Most of the world, of course, does not believe in the ideal, and they fight against it with great passion. But the ideal is there, and the perfect family "blueprint" of Father, Mother, Children will always stand the test of time. Always. 

Men and women need each other. And we can do beautiful things together, if we fortify each other, instead of fight against each other. 

Speaking of fighting, when I was in Karate, I had to have a boy partner -- because none of the other girls were strong enough to handle me. I discovered most of the boys were not as strong, either, as I flipped them over my back. I share this, not to prove my awesome martial-arts skills -- but so that you will know that I am no weak-kneed little girl, who cowers under the strength of men. No, not me -- quite the opposite. I quite enjoyed flipping guys over my back and onto the floor. 

I am a strong women -- sometimes even really strong -- and my great wish is for the strength of men to return to this land. I wish men would stand up and be the noble men that women so desire them to be. I wish women would help men rise to their full capacity and strength, instead of cutting men "down to size". I wish the women who are so heck-bent on shrinking the moral-stature of men would realize how much more good they could do by building them up, and not tearing them down. 

We do not need to reduce the glory of men, by raising higher the glory of women. We can both rise to something more, something better -- together.  And then, together, we can work wonders . . . beyond imagination. 

This funny thing happens when you try and treat men like the men you wish they would be. You see, sometimes -- not always -- but sometimes, they might step-up to the pedestal next to you, ladies, and act as the noble prince you have always dreamed of. 

So, my friends, let's put our virtuous "knights in shining armor" back on their horses, shall we? Perhaps we can rise up in virtue and join them, and ride off into the sunset together... and live happily ever after. 

Only a Fairytale? It's your choice.