Monday, February 19, 2007

Submission, Part 3

When I got married, no one told me what submission would be like. It is different for every woman, but there is so much that is the same! No one told me that holding my tongue would be so hard, that my husband would indeed make some bad decisions along the way, or that being a wife means supporting your husbands in any and every situation. These are things I have learned along the way. In no way have I perfected these things, in fact I struggle with these daily. I think about myself more than I think about respecting or supporting my husband.

I wonder why submission is such a closed mouth topic? I wonder why in the church we shy away from really talking about and encouraging women to submit to their husbands? Have we grown so lukewarm, so numb to God's Word that some things just don't seem appropriate to share? This is not they way it's suppose to be. Titus 2 says these things, "You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine." (v.1) and "Then [the older women] can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." (vv.4-5) The older women are to teach us and share with us about these things! Perhaps in your life, you've had this older woman to instruct you. How wonderful! If not, let's learn from the lack of that experience. Therefore, let us strive to learn the ways of the Lord and grow in godliness so that we may share His truth and ways with the next generation of young women. We do not need to be perfect or the Proverbs 31 woman, we just need a heart to seek the Lord and follow His commands.

Could women really be as independent and successful without a man somewhere along the line? Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud to be a woman and love most of what that involves. Good for us that we have become something in this big, bad world. But where has that gotten us? We live in a world ruled by women, where men sink in their seats and shy away from any kind of leadership. I want to be the kind of woman that sacrifices independence and “worldly” success so that my husband can stand in the spot I once did. I want to turn my nose to positions that men once held so that my husband can confidently step into that role. Sure, it will be hard and I will fail often before I can truly let my husband lead the way God has called him too. But to me, it’s worth it.

No comments: