Competing with Dumb Girl

The other day I was with a group of friends. We were talking about the Bible. And one of the girls there started playing dumb. I’d seen her do this before around men but this time it really got under my skin. I knew she knew the answers but all of the sudden she had a high pitched voice and didn’t know a darn thing.

And the guys there just ate it up.

Now before you all are too hard on this girl, I’ve seen many women do this. And in my circles, it always seems to center around what they know about God, the Bible, and their Christian walk. I know they know these things because we’ve talked about them one on one. But when the opposite sex comes around, it’s like these girls are back in Bible class 101 and they don’t know Abraham from Moses. What was my reaction to all this you say? I did what any self-respecting modern woman would do.


I decided to play dumb too.

I know I’m making all you women proud. I actually said I didn’t know something when I really did. I kept my mouth shut about a scripture that really spoke to me and almost acted as if I’d never heard it.

And guess what? It worked (sort of). I got the attention I wanted but at a price.

I gave up who I was and what God had done in my heart. When I got home, I was ashamed. Why did I do that? Why did I basically lie? The truth is, I felt like I couldn’t measure up. I couldn’t compete with her feigned lack of knowledge so decided to join in too.

So I cried out to God.

I basically said “Hey. I thought Christian guys wanted a woman who could talk about her faith and what God's taught her. But all I’m finding is guys who only feel comfortable around a woman if she knows less about God than they do.” Pout. Pout. Then God spoke to me.

Don’t deny what I’ve done in your life to impress men.

Ouch. See, it wasn’t about what men wanted in a woman. It was about my reaction. It was about me being true to myself. See, I’m not a super talkative person. I don’t have all the answers and often say so. But when I do know them, I need to share them.

Even if that is seen as a threat to men and they are intimidated.

Someday there will be a man who’s not intimidated by a woman who is comfortable talking about what she knows about the Bible or anything else. And that day, my friends, will be a very good day. So…what is it that you feel you just can’t compete with when it comes to men and women? What is your reaction to it?