4B = 4Gotten Virtues

God has a plan - it's a good plan. When we walk in obedience to it, we can reflect His glory and have peace and satisfaction. When we follow our own whims and think we know better, then there are consequences for that. 1st Peter 1 reminds us about our call to obedience:
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

I came across a rather odd protest movement recently, in an article from USA Today that had to do with what is called the "4B movement," which apparently originated in South Korea.  The USA Today article stated: 

The "4B" movement gets its name from four Korean words that all start with the letter "b": bihon (heterosexual marriage), bichulsan (childbirth), biyeonae (dating) and bisekseu (sex). You join the movement by giving up all four with men.

A good portion of the article deals with a lady named Ashli Pollard; the article says:

The 36-year-old entrepreneur says she's been part of the 4B movement for two years. Originating as a protest against misogyny and sexism in South Korea, the movement has four requirements for women who participate: No dating men, no marrying men, no sex with men and no childbirth.

Following the results of the 2024 presidential election − during which abortion became a sticking point for many voters − some women are encouraging each other online to bring the movement to the United States.

But, as the USA Today article points out:

The 4B movement is controversial for many reasons. For starters, political issues − even ones steeped in gender politics like abortion − don't cleanly split along gender lines. Plenty of women oppose abortion, and plenty of men support it. Plenty of women voted for Trump, and plenty of men for Kamala Harris. Plus, mental health and relationship experts say, taking your political frustrations out on the person you're dating isn't a good idea. After all, what if your partner shares your values and feels just as upset about the state of politics as you do?

Relevant Magazine, a Christian website, noted:

Many women are using 4B to express discontent with political outcomes and social dynamics, especially as they see gender issues becoming more politically charged. Some American women are even vowing to adopt elements of 4B, inspired by those who have embraced life paths free from traditional male relationships.

Over the last week, young women on Instagram and TikTok have begun to share the ideologies of the 4B movement with their friends and followers, encouraging other women to abstain from relationships with “men who do not respect them.” In fact, within the first two days after the election, there were over 500,000 search inquiries for “4B movement” on Google, becoming one of the top trending topics on the online search engine.

So, how should Christians view this movement. Relevant goes on to say:

Author Lisa Bevere shared a video explaining the 4B movement to her followers on Instagram, writing, “B4 also could mean less promiscuity, STIs, & STD’s, less abortions! Is this an answer to our prayers?”

At the root of the movement is American women asking for respect and equality from the people around them. And as writer Emma Jarred shared with RELEVANT, the Church has the opportunity to show the world what that respect can and should look like.

She wrote, "Let’s start by examining our hearts, minds and motives because enormous healing is needed here, and every little bit is one step closer to God’s Kingdom.”

Well, make no mistake, the Bible teaches to value one another just as our Lord values each of us. And, we should always understand the incredible giftedness and roles that men - and women - have. As Jarred writes in another Relevant piece: "During the period of the formation of the Early Church, women were already a second-class gender. They had no rights, no say in politics, society, philosophy or religion. Jesus had taken the first steps of turning that around...Paul also held women in equal standing to himself and they were integral to his ministry. He told husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the Church, in a time and culture where women were held responsible for the fall of man and therefore treated horribly."

I think we have to recognize that the enemy's agenda is to divide the Church.  He has all sorts of ways in which he will do that, including pitting men against women.  I have seen the erroneous teaching that attempts to pit Jesus against Paul regarding their position on the role of women.  Fact is, the Bible is the picture of consistency regarding how we are to treat one another.  

Well, the "my body, my choice" crowd may just be backing down from those reckless choices which have led to unwanted pregnancies and the attempt to avoid consequences by terminating the human being produced through their bad choices.  John Stonestreet of the Colson Center, heard on Breakpoint on Faith Radio, spoke a few months ago at Hillsdale College - here's what The Collegian had to say:

“This disconnection from purpose — to actually see the body as nothing more than a pliable canvas that we can do with whatever we want, because it has no inherent purpose, it has no inherent value other than what I assigned to — that is the new sexual ethic,” he said.

Stonestreet said this detachment, instigated by the sexual revolution of the 1960s, has continued to impact the way today’s culture views the human body.

“We’ve basically taken away all the rules, all the boundaries, all the fences, and said, ‘If you just go do whatever you want, follow your heart, you be you, do whatever you feel, you will have freedom and truth and prosperity and all that sort of stuff,’” he said. “And guess what? It did not bring the salvation that the sexual revolutionaries promised.”

According to Stonestreet, the beliefs championed by the sexual revolution have led to a culture separated from God’s design.

The article continues by saying, "Stonestreet said in order to effectively shape culture, Christians should demonstrate sexual morality by recognizing that sex, marriage, and babies are inseparable." But the 4B'ers want to detach; to become separate from God's plan - championing abortion and eschewing healthy relationships. 

These are confusing times that present an opportunity for each of us to live bedrock truth.  We can demonstrate a joy that is not of this world that counters this apparent despair to disconnect from God's perfect plan.