To illustrate my point, I would to look at what I refer to the “third unit” of the Hymn:

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.” -Col 1:19-20

Reconciliation in the biblical narrative speaks to a fixing that which is undone (undone relationships, undone social systems, etc).  The thing that needs the most “undoing,” of course, is the curse in Genesis.  Whether one takes a literal view of Genesis or not, the main idea of the story seems to be explaining why the world is so undone.  Men rule over women, women have painful childbirths, etc., but if Christ has “reconciled to himself all things” doesn’t this mean the end of the curse?  Obviously, we must take this with a grain of salt as there still is pain and suffering in the world (a common understanding I hear is the reality of the kingdom is an “already, but not yet” paradox).

But if we are to understand, as Christians, the curse is broken, should we not live in such a way?  I think one of the practical ways to live this out is by stopping to define everyone narrowly according to gender roles.  Why does the man have to be the breadwinner?  If the curse is broken, cannot man and wife work alongside one another in peace and harmony?  There will always be problems, but shouldn’t our “post-curse” mentality be focused on the reconciliation of those problems.  Gender should not be a primary means by which we create an “us and them” mentality in the church.