I've pondered my thoughts on this needful discussion, because the issue presented is one that I have struggled with as well. Equality of women, women in ministry, a woman with a career, and being a mother/homemaker are issues that most women are very familiar with. As a Christian, for a woman trying to find the place she needs to be that is best for her family, and for herself, can be tough, especially in the generation we live in now.
I grew up in OP, and never knew anything but this culture and way of life. I would say even as one other poster did, that most of the time, the OP encourages young people to marry at a young age as a way to deal with the issue of sex before marriage. I don't know that it is so much a respect for a woman, as it is trying to deal with the issue of fornication.
I do think that motherhood is an honored place within the OP ranks, certainly as
Titus 2 teaching would indicate.
One of Peter Marshall's sermons, preached back in the 1940s, Keeper of the Springs, I think holds a lot of valuable input for this discussion. The full sermon can be read
here.
I like his thought that we as women are "Keepers of the Springs", and I was amazed at his insight more than 60 years ago, and if things were as bad then (as he said they were), I can't imagine what he would have to say today!
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