Submission.....  as an Act of Worship

The cutting of the wedding cake symbolizes the first task that a bride and groom perform jointly as husband and wife.   It is a visual example of the mutual commitment that the bride and groom made to each other .  A wedding cake is one of the highlights of the wedding, and the cake can sometimes be a work of art.    Making a cake  is a process of a lot of individual ingredients being added together.  If these ingredients are taken and eaten separately, they taste yucky.  Butter and flour and baking soda eaten alone are actually do not taste good alone.   But mixed together, they make a wonderful and tasty wedding cake. 

It is the same with the concept of submission .  We don't like the idea of submission because of what society has taught us about submission.  Our culture has given us a lot of confusion and misinterpretation in regards to this command.   But as a bitter ingredient in a cake batter , mixed in properly, it makes a batter better. This is the Biblical example of submission. 

Submission is not..  degrading ... demeaning ...  being a doormat ... subjection ... dominance  or  devalue us as women  .
 
The Bible is very clear.  According to the Bible.....
 
Ephesians 5:22 "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord ."

 Colossians 3:18 "Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord."

 1 Timothy 2:11 "A woman should learn in quietness and full submission."  (I liked the 'the Message' version of 1 Tim. 2:11..." I don't let women take over and tell the men what to do!")

Titus 2:5 KJV "To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."
 
 1 Corinthians 11:3 (MSG) "In a marriage relationship, there is authority from Christ to husband, and from husband to wife. The authority of Christ is the authority of God."

Our God is a God of order and He designed our homes to be in order.    The reason for order in our homes is to prevent chaos and confusion - not as a punishment,  but as a blessing! 

The original definition of the word submission (as the Bible uses it) is - 'to arrange yourself under someone's authority.'  This means it is a choice and you do it voluntarily, no one forces you to do it.  Submission is an act of worship whose primary purpose is to honor God.  We submit with an attitude  of respect, as we are commanded to.
 
The Amplified version of 1 Peter 3:5-6 says it best "For it was thus that the pious women of old who hoped in God were [accustomed] to beautify themselves and were submissive to their husbands [adapting themselves to them as themselves secondary and dependent upon them].   It was thus that Sarah obeyed Abraham [following his guidance and acknowledging his headship over her by] calling him lord (master, leader, authority). And you are now her true daughters if you do right and let nothing terrify you [not giving way to hysterical fears or letting anxieties unnerve you]."

Moms,  you can remember when you tell your children something, and they do it.  But when those children do what we ask stomping their feet and rolling their eyes instead of doing it cheerfully, we correct their attitude.  The same is for us wives: we must submit in our attitude  as well as in action.  See the Message Version of  2 Corinthians 5:9 "Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. "
There are no verses in the Bible that says to submit to your husband "IF"...    If he treats me nice today, if he remembers my birthday, if he mows the lawn, if he makes me happy, if he deserves my respect ...  etc.  Sorry , there are NO IF'S!

Satan loves to twist and distort the Biblical definition of submission as we explain it away.  This is the front on which he will attack our marriages.  And remember that Satan's first original sin was refusal to submit to God! When we wives do not submit to our own husband, we rob our husband of their respect due them! And we blaspheme the Word of God! Titus 2:5 "teach the women to be... obedient to their own husbands ... that the word of God not be blasphemed."

As women, we go to Bible studies, conferences, retreats,  we teach AWANA and Sunday School; and yet do our actions in our home blaspheme the Word of God?  Women seek to control men through shame, a demeaning look, remark, accusation.  As a man becomes more unsure of himself, we try to make him more controllable.  Our culture teaches us that we are to control our men and not submit to them.    Other ways that women/wives  try to control men...  screaming, scheming, manipulation, accusations, silence, secrecy, whining, withdrawal (especially behind the bedroom door), tears, pouting, depression. pity, correcting your husband in public, not expressing appreciation, etc.   If as a women you seek to control your husband, he may not leave you physically (or he may) but leave emotionally by being absorbed in television, computer, hobbies, work or another woman.    Do you see any habits that you need to change?   (I do!)

Look (and hear) at how you talk with your husband and communicate respectfully.   We use this concept in business relationships with a boss, yet we can be so disrespect to our own husband!   I am learning too.  God isn't finished with me yet, either.   
This was a powerful lesson Joanne taught last week and I tried to capture the essence of it in this blog.  If  any reader would like a audio copy of the CD, please e-mail me and I will send it out to you.

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                                   maranatha ~ dawn