Up Is Down and Down Is Up

I recently came upon this quote from the Botkins, and it reminded me of everything I left behind when I rejected my parents’ belief that, as an unmarried adult daughter, I was under my father’s authority:

Many stay-at-home girls believe that, as they become adults, their fathers’ jurisdiction over their lives will lessen. They feel that, in order to mature into individuals able to think and act for themselves, they must be “liberated” from another’s input into their lives. This is because we’re drowning in a culture that doesn’t understand what the Bible says about individualism vs. unity, autonomy vs. authority, or license vs. liberty.

Dear girls – don’t be afraid of losing your “individual personhood” or the ability to think for yourself, and don’t think that those are the signs of an adult. Any two-year-old girl has a mind of her own and most certainly thinks for herself. Every woman knows her own mind – it’s part of being Eve’s daughters. It’s not a sign of maturity to struggle for autonomy – that’s toddler stuff. The sign of our maturity and adulthood is when we willingly submit ourselves to God-given authority and therefore to God Himself. This is a struggle, and it requires strength, wisdom, responsibility and spiritual maturity.

Truly, in the Christian homeschooling subculture in which I grew up and imbibed these ideas, up is down and down is up. But somehow, when you’re on the inside, it all makes perfect sense.

And with that, you are more than welcome to use the comment section to pick apart everything that is wrong with this quote. Enjoy!