The Roles & Responsibilities of Men and Women
A Reflection on The Story of Adam and Eve, and The Implications for Mankind
I foresee this being part one of a multi-part series. In this part, I draw from one act of Adam, only scratching the surface of the differing nature between men and women.
A mother’s love is unconditional by nature—and thereby self-fulfilling.
A father, however, is not required by nature to love—and therefore his love is both self-emptying and self-fulfilling.
Hence, Adam’s self-emptying. He gave his rib for the creation of Eve, through whom he could attain self-fulfillment.
For a husband to be fulfilled, he must give all that he can to his wife. The culmination of his love makes his wife a mother. Upon this transformation, he has given her the gift of her fulfillment—the unconditional love born out of motherhood.
Now as a father, the man must continue to give—not only to his wife, but to his children. He gives them safety and he gives them wisdom.
As a mother, she now expresses her unconditional love as a means of self-fulfillment.
It may seem that both mother and father are now giving for fulfillment. The difference however, is in their nature.
A woman does not have to give—it is in her nature to love unconditionally. A reserve full of love is innate to the woman, and with a recipient, it flows effortlessly from her.
As a part of her nature, a woman is also understanding—therefrom comes the effortless flow. All that is necessary is the expression of love. Her battle then becomes improving her expression. Her intuition guides the improvement.
A father, however, does have to give. In order to give, he is required to pursue all that enables his giving—basic necessities, safety, and wisdom.
Because a man does not understand, his battle is one of understanding and expression. He must understand the world, himself, his woman, and his children. His intuition fails him, and so it does a man good to look to God as his Father for guidance.
And so we must give thanks to our mothers. As sons, we empty ourselves completely of gratitude. In doing so, we spare them from suffering through emptiness. A woman who begins to give more than her unconditional love takes from what is already whole.
And to our fathers, we must give the same reassurance. Though, as the receivers, the reassurance is empty. Men must give their entire lives to those that they love. Because the self-emptying of men requires a pursuit of understanding and expression—we must give men, our fathers, feedback. We do so through questions, because by questions we give them the opportunity to give what is right. Through innocent curiosity, we aid our fathers in their fulfillment, and learn ourselves the wisdom we must one day give.
Then it is the responsibility of the man to persist in his understanding, and of the woman to trust his pursuit, but also to provide feedback, through the expression of unconditional love.
A man whose curiosity dies, stagnates in his understanding, and fails to give effectively. He is not fulfilled.
By the same law, a woman who stops expressing love unconditionally, begins taking for herself and giving outside of love. She is not fulfilled either.