“For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the
Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than
your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts.” —Isaiah 55:8–9
I
am opinionated. I am independent. I am strong willed. I am not afraid
to make
decisions. I am happy to take leadership. I am confident. I am also
...submissive to my husband. To many women, this seems much like the
confession
of a person at Alcoholics Anonymous. You know, “Hi. I’m Cindy, and I’m
submissive.”
Even
writing those words rankles me. If I am all those things I say I
am—opinionated, independent, confident— why did God choose me to be
submissive?
What was
God thinking?
It
All Started In The Garden
Let’s
look at the beginning. That’s where it all started. Pick up a Bible and
look at
the very first book, the very first chapter, Genesis 1, where we read
about God
creating the heavens and the earth. Right from the start you can see
that God
created the world with order. God made light, and separated it from the
darkness. He made water and dry
land.
Then
He moved on to vegetation and plants and fruit-bearing trees. On the
fourth day
God created the stars and sun and moon. Then He created all kinds of
fish and
birds and things that swarm. On the sixth day God made animals and
everything
that creeps on the ground. And on that day God also created His
crowning
achievement:
God
created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male
and
female created he them (Gen. 1:27
KJV
).
Did
you notice the progression? God brought order out of chaos. Our God is
a God of
order. But we can’t stop there. Genesis 2:7 explains the creation of
man and
woman in more detail: “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the
ground
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a
living
being.”
After
God created man, God gave him his work orders. God planted a beautiful
garden,
and placed Adam in the middle. Adam’s job was to take care of the
garden. And
then
God created the woman. God saw that it was not good for
man to be alone,
and fashioned a helper specifically designed to meet the man’s
needs:
“Surely
God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me” (Ps.
54:4).
Biblical
Lines of Authority
We
all live under authority. Scripture does not single out wives for
submission.
God has placed everyone in subjection to the government (Rom. 13:1–2;
Titus
3:1).We recognize this authority in our lives and choose to obey it or
suffer
the consequences. We obey the speed limit, pay our taxes, and even keep
our
grass cut so we don’t have conflicts with our federal, state, or local
governments. We may complain, but we comply because we don’t want to
suffer the
penalty for not following the laws of the
land.
God
has also established a line of leadership in our homes. Ephesians
5:22–6:9, as
well as Colossians 3:18–4:1, describe this authority: Children are
subject to
parents, wives to husbands, and husbands to God. Additionally, God
reminded
slaves to be obedient to their masters as to Christ, which we can apply
to
employees today and their bosses (Eph. 6:5). In both of these passages,
the
reason
we are to follow these lines of authority is because,
ultimately, we are
doing it for Christ’s sake:
Whatever
you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,
knowing
that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It
is the
Lord Christ whom you serve (Col. 3:23–24
NASB
).
A
Unique Relationship
God
continued His thoughts on marriage through the apostle Paul, in his
letter to
the Ephesian church:
Wives,
be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord (Eph. 5:22
NASB
).
The
first thing that strikes me about this verse is the little word "own."
Wives, be subject to your
own
husbands. This is not a directive to every
male/female relationship. This is not addressed to women in the
workplace, nor
does it even refer to how a woman treats her boyfriend or fiancé. The
only man
a woman should be subject to is her
own husband. This is a relationship
like none other. Although it might seem contrary to our expectations, a
woman
can function in a position of authority in the workplace while she
still lives
in a position of submission in her relationship to her
husband.
Interestingly,
the word “subject" comes from a Greek military term that means to
arrange
troops under the command of a leader. In nonmilitary terms, submission
is an
attitude of voluntary cooperation. I like that. It’s something I can
comprehend
as I ask myself, “Am I choosing to voluntarily cooperate with Michael?”
When I
do, I am giving him the respect he longs
for.
But
read on. This verse also says a wife should be subject to her own
husband,
as
to the Lord. For whatever reason, God chose to place the
husband as the
head of the relationship. When we refuse to accept God’s design, we
are, in
essence, telling God we don’t trust Him. At times, being willing to
follow our
husbands is certainly difficult, yet that is what God asks of
us.
God
will use your willingness to cooperate with Him and your husband to
work in
both of your lives. I have been amazed as I look back over my own life
to see
how this principle has repeatedly come to fruition. When I submit to
Michael’s
leadership ,God works in both of us. That leads me to wonder if I am
hindering
God’s work in our lives when I’m not willing to submit to
Michael.
Adapted from
What's Submission Got To Do With It?
Copyright © 2008 Cindy Easley, published by Moody Publishers. Used with permission.
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