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I kept getting asked to share what I spoke about the other week at Oasis Church concerning Biblical Submission. We were really bummed that the podcast crashed during the message and that we couldn't just link it, but I'll try to reenact it in Q/A form (leaving out many illustrations for time sake) over the next few days.
Here goes...
Q: "How would you, as a Christian wife, describe the implications of Biblical submission as described in Ephesians 5?"
A: Let's face it, submission is a touchy subject and if we look at Ephesians 5:22-24 as a stand-alone passage it really looks demeaning to us as women and wives. Like we have no self outside of our husbands. But like any other subject we have to weigh it with the rest of Scripture as a whole and see what the rest of Scripture says about it which is exactly what we are going to do today.
Q: "Why do you think that the idea of Biblical submission is usually interpreted so negatively in today's society?"
A: "Well-behaved women rarely make history." This is actually a bumper sticker that I saw on the way down here this weekend.
We as women want a voice, equality, strength, importance and a chance to make a difference and with a single glance at this passage we feel like our chance has been taken away. Our society has led us to believe that if we don't "step up like a man" then we won't be heard, like we've lost our significance.
The western world tends to view submission in a corporate mentality, though, instead of the way God intended for it to be, which is a mutual submission.
This generation is missing the big picture, the beauty of Biblical submission. The submission outlined in the rest of Ephesians 5.
Q: "Can you give us some practical everyday examples where you have had to, or someone may have to live out Biblical submission?"
A: This was hard because, again, I myself, was trying to think of examples where I do what Josh tells me to do. This is the default mindset that we have to deprogram ourselves from thinking. Instead, I found examples where we communicate together to biblically submit to each other while seeking to submit to God's ultimate authority.
Here are a few examples I came up with off the top of my head:
Our career - When Josh came to me and told me that he felt lead to embark on a new journey in ministry together I was a little nervous. That would mean no consistent pay check and the loss of any sense of structure and stability for our family and everyday life. But I trusted that Josh heard from the Lord and believe that God has placed Josh as the leader of our family so I submitted to him and here we are.
Finances - Money matters are one of the leading reasons for divorce. Realizing that fact, when Josh and I were getting ready to get married we made a commitment to each other to communicate openly about purchases. We decided that if any purchase is greater than $50 (besides groceries or things like that) we would discuss the purchase and weigh its importance together to see if it is a wise purchase.
Clothing - Knowing that visual temptations are a huge struggle for men, I try to run my outfits by Josh. We are up on stage in front of people ALL THE TIME and I would be foolish to think that I could just wear whatever I wanted to. Now, that being said, Josh does not pick out my clothes. I think we all know that I probably wouldn't go out much if that happened, but I do run things by him. If he thinks something is too short, or too low-cut, or too sexy (he did interject here and specify that sexy is TOTALLY alright with him;), just ONLY for him!) then I will change my clothes. I must admit to rolling my eyes every once in a while, but I know that Josh knows way better than I do about the struggle that men have and I want to help out in any way I can.
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