Leading and the Authentic Woman

What is a woman to do when a man abdicates his leadership role, or tries to lead her down the wrong path? How is she to correct him and save him, without falling into the fault of Eve, and stepping into His role as leader and initiator?

The man's predominant quality in decision making is logic. This provides him the gift of focus and reducing large issues into something about which a decision can be made, as well as offering a rational solution. His danger, however, is that this reduced state is not reality. The world is big and complicated and the possibilities and perspectives limitless. Thus he may make a very "rational" decision that is based in unreality, and is harmful to all involved.

The woman's predominant quality in decision making is intuition. This provides her the gift of seeing the big picture as well as the painful, infinite details and perspectives. This intuition allows her a better grasp of reality. Her danger, however, is to be overwhelmed by this infinite gulf of emotions and facts and perspectives, such that she cannot make a decision at all, or if she does, it can never take into account all of her intuition and is always biased and emotional, and therefore often harmful to those involved.

The authentic woman will never demand a leadership role for her intuition. However she will demand that it be heard. She will insist that it be heard, because the man will often deny its very existence, as it falls outside of his narrow-minded logic. However, she must never insist upon an outcome. Think of Mary at the Wedding Feast of Cana (John 2). She does not tell Jesus what to do, but rather points out the facts: "They have no wine." When Jesus asks her "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come" Mary insists on her intuition, but leaves the decision and action to Jesus: "Do whatever he tells you." Follow Mary's example. You are dealing with a man who is fully human, not God, but there are many reasons that God came as man. He is meant to be head and the woman heart.

When the man abdicates his role as leader and decision maker, or if he makes a poor decision, the woman's duty is to tell him. She must lovingly but firmly point out to him where and why it is wrong, and explain to him the wider world outside his line of logic. But then she must leave it up to him to decide to change his direction and act upon his decision. In this she becomes his helpmate: she shows him what he does not see, that he may perform his role to perfection.