The Danger of Self-Empowerment

Self-empowerment. Sometimes it’s referred to as “being a strong woman” or an “independent woman.”

We live in a world where women are afforded many of the same opportunities as men. But can I take a brief moment to speak something boldly to all the women reading this? Self-empowerment, in the sense we know it today, is the killer of the feminine heart.

Self-empowerment is an overused term in our society that is attractive to our egos and our sin nature. I hear things like, “You do it all, you should be proud of yourself for all you’ve done.”  Or, “You must know what empowerment feels like.” However, I find the most dangerous to be: “Anything a man can do, a woman can do better.”

When people say these things they aren’t referring to empowerment from the Lord. In fact I don’t think people realize what empowerment, or self-empowerment really means. Self-empowerment is something that inflates your pride more than it already is.

What is empowerment?

Empowerment by definition (according to Webster’s Dictionary) is:

a. to give power to (someone)

b. to give official authority or legal power to (someone)

So if we are using this term in our lives, it means we are giving power to ourselves. Last time I checked, God was the only one with ultimate power. I’m not sure about you but I take no credit for being the mother that I am, a loyal, dedicated worker or even an overcomer in my own daily struggles.

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
–Colossians 3:23

We can only call ourselves overcomers because the Lord gives us strength to persevere. I am only a hard worker because I take the Lord’s Word and apply it to my life. And the same goes for you. We do not reign next to God on the throne in Heaven. He reigns, and self-empowerment seeks to take authority away from God.

Where is the danger?
The danger lies in thinking that we as women reign over men. That is Satan’s oldest trick and if we don’t stop thinking this way, our society will be far worse off than it already is. Women were not created to reign over men or be in some sort of authority over them. That goes against our nature, our true feminine heart, the heart that God created.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t take pride in the things you’ve accomplished knowing that the Lord has provided for you. It’s only dangerous when we allow our pride to rule our hearts.

How would you encourage women not to fall into the trap of self-empowerment?