2 Cents

No doubt Northrup had a sizable chance to win the entire tournament judging by his stellar record in previous matches. No doubt any of us would have relished the chance to be considered the best in the entire state at our respective sport. No doubt Northrup found it hard to give up on what might have been a dream - a state title.

But Joel Northrup made a choice for God's glory over his own. Northrup stated, "As a matter of my conscience and my faith, I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner." Northrup chose to give up a shot at personal glory to honor God. He chose to deny himself and follow Jesus (yes, Northrup is a Christian).

The nature of wrestling as a sport should have enlightened the directors of the tournament that matches should be limited to same sex opponents. If you've ever seen a wrestling match you know that this much physical contact with anyone other than your spouse is unbiblical, immoral, and disrespectful. Another factor in this decision is that wrestling is an inherently violent sport. People can get hurt and it's disrespectful for any man to inflict pain upon a woman. Real men don't fight girls.

But undoubtedly including girls in a men's wrestling tournament was a concession to the feminist agenda that for years has screamed for women and men to be equal in every way in every situation (there were actually two girls in the tournament). But when we look at the Bible we don't see males and females as the same in every way except for anatomy. We see that God intended men and women to complement each other - to complete one another - with their inherent differences. We see that Eve was created as a "suitable helper" to Adam (Gen. 2:18). We see that men are to lead their wives by giving themselves up as Christ died for the church (Eph. 5:25-29). We see that wives are to be home-oriented nurturers (Titus 2:4-5). Furthermore we see that females as a whole are weaker than males (1 Peter 3:7) and men should treat them considerately with respect and gentleness.

These differences do not mean males are more valuable than females - or vise versa - but simply that they are different and have different God-given roles intended to maximize our joy as human beings.

Joel Northrup seems as though he understands this. He certainly understands that males and females are created with inherent differences and those differences are Godly boundaries meant to be respected not oppressive walls meant to be torn down. More than that he understands that God's glory is more important than his own - and he will be rewarded for it in eternity.