Pastor John, here's today's question. Hello, Pastor John. My name is Jennifer, and I live on a long island.

I have a question about complementarianism. It is something I've struggled with for a long time,

and it is something I need to have worked out before even considering a relationship or marriage in the future.

I know the Bible clearly states that men and women are equal in their standing before God as far as salvation.

But in all other areas of life, I still struggle with the feelings of inferiority because of certain comparisons used in the Bible.

For example, regarding submission. The Bible says that the servant is not greater than his master and wives are called to submit to their husbands as the church submits to Christ.

However, servants are not equal to their masters, and the church is not equal in worth to Christ.

In almost every area of life, those in positions of authority are considered more valuable than those under that authority.

Just like the president is more valuable than the secret service men and in businesses, managers are more valued than the workers under them,

and throughout history, women have always been treated as less valuable than men.

In light of these things, I greatly struggle with feeling inferior and worth to men.

Is there something that you might be able to see that I am missing as I read through Scripture? Thank you.

I want to tackle the two particular kinds of texts that trouble Jennifer in just a moment.

But first, let me venture a general statement about female superiority and inferiority and male superiority and inferiority in relationship to each other.

I think most of the time, we are so eager to say the appropriate thing about equality that we overlook the obvious inequalities that exist between men and women.

So how should we speak about these? I'm thinking of things like, in general, men are physically stronger so that in the Olympics, in most events, men and women don't compete with each other.

Or things like women being superior at singing soprano or bearing children or nursing children.

And my guess is, if objectivity were possible in the research, which in our politically correct day, I don't think it is,

but if objectivity were possible in the research, there would be countless studies about nuanced psychological, verbal,

analytical, synthetic, emotional differences between men and women in general that in some areas would give woman the edge and in other areas would give man the edge.

I think those studies probably have been done and buried because they would be offensive, perhaps, I don't know, but that's my opinion.

So here's my theological bottom line on this matter. If God were to make a list of female superiorities and inferiorities and a list of male superiorities and inferiorities,

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