Equality and Submission

                  

Here’s a dichotomy for you. Like a boat on dry land the title words oppose each other, so let’s take a closer look.

I was listening to a Bible teacher* the other day whose key points brought up a personal memory.

There has been a lot of misinformation about women and submission, but here are some truths:

1)      Men and women are created equal before God

2)      All women are not required to submit to all men

3)      Women can be leaders, CEOs, or military commanders

4)      Submission applies only to a wife and her own husband

Marriage is not for everyone. If the idea of submission sets your teeth on edge, you may want to say, “No.” For sure you should not marry someone you don’t respect or trust, or who doesn’t care about what you think or feel.

In the days when this scripture was written women, children, and slaves in Roman, Greek, and Jewish cultures had great responsibilities. Men, on the other hand, had a great deal of freedom.

The true translation of submission means “to place under rank,” and Paul spoke not only to women. He also addressed men, children, and slaves (Colossians 3:18-4:1). Think about it. Everyone in the world is in submission to someone. That’s the orderliness of society.

My husband and I enjoyed equality in marriage for many years. I was comfortable submitting because he cared what I thought. After freely sharing my opinion or insight, I expected him to make our family decision. 

Strange as it seems, in the 1980’s women started teaching submission to the extreme. In taking some of their advice, I stopped freely sharing my thoughts and feelings. The result was that gradually my husband stopped asking for my opinion.

Things came to a head while exploring options for housing on a new job. Riding around, I became extremely depressed. God had given me a clear vision (warning) a few weeks earlier and I said to myself I’m not going to share this. He won’t listen anyway.

I can still see the street where I finally burst into tears. Shocked, my husband pulled into a parking lot and asked, “What’s wrong?” I told him about the vision and why I had not shared it with him earlier.

Besides his apology, he asked me to promise I would always share what I thought or felt. The fresh start was good, but it wasn’t magic. We had to rebuild our trusting relationship.

Equality and submission are positive truths. Please avoid getting bogged down with false teaching.

*Dr. Robert Jeffress, Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, TX, Pathway to Victory.