Submissive Wife, Happy Life ?

Submission: leading with love, not controlling by fear

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.  (NIV)

In my last post I discussed what God has outlined as part of the duties of being a Godly husband. The bulk of the scripture where I got my outline for a Godly Husband was in Ephesians 5. Before I continue on I want to let you all know that I know for certain that men and women are both of equal importance to God and God does not place one sex above the other. Although it is not a popular opinion, I happen to be of the belief of that God specifically designed and created men and women to fulfill different roles that work together in perfect harmony for the good of the Kingdom.  One word in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 22 in particular has turned out to be a hot button for many people…this word is ‘submit.’ Admittedly, this verse always made me raise an eyebrow, I never understood why God {seemingly} wanted men to dominate the household and wanted us girls to just go right along with whatever they say—this was me leaning to my own understanding and jumping to an uneducated conclusion of what Ephesians 5:22 meant. When you take the verse out of context, this seems to be the general consensus. The usual English connotation of submit is not pleasant and is typically the reason that the word, especially when pertaining to marriage, gets people up in arms. Even the definition of ‘Submission’ in the Webster’s dictionary backs those who say that women who choose to be submissive to their husbands are doormats and gluttons for punishment.
submission–yielding to the control of another. Webster’s dictionary

We first have to remember that the Bible was not written in English but in predominantly Hebrew and Greek. Because Hebrew and Greek are such complex and eloquent languages, a lot of the words in the Bible that have been translated to the English language can easily get taken out of context because of our own feelings or connotations rather than their original and perfect Biblical definition or reference. This turns out to be the case in Ephesians 5 submission. The Greek word used in Ephesians 5:22 for submit was hupŏtassō.

Ephesians 5 Man

From the time we were little girls, most of us have dreamt of our wedding day. It all starts when we play with our Barbie and Ken dolls and continues on when we have our first crush. In a world where romance and weddings are amplified by Pinterest dream wedding boards and fairytale romance shows like The Bachelorette where men fight for a woman’s heart and woo her with extravagant vacations, gifts, and in the end a huge engagement ring. {Provided for free by a jeweler in exchange for some national advertising,} We girls sort of have a ‘fill-in-the-groom’ mentality of our wedding day. We think about how we will do our hair and what type of dress we will wear, we wonder what colors will be the ‘wedding colors’ and almost every detail in between. Ask most girls what they want in a husband and they will say “Tall, dark and handsome” or maybe “Blonde hair, blue eyes and washboard abs.” My question to you is how often when you ask a woman what she wants in a man does she start with aspects that are not purely physical?

#detox

We live in a world where we are constantly trying to cleanse ourselves of unhealthy things. We realize processed food is bad for us and then we stop eating it. We realize sugar is bad for us so we try to cut that out of our diet as well, and now there is tons of gluten free products that are all the rage. We try cleanses, fasts, exercise regimens, diets and supplements all in the name of detoxifying our bodies from things that aren’t meant to be in them. We focus on our body, and yes…our bodies are temples of God. but aren’t our bodies just the shells of our souls? We focus on making our exterior beautiful but it’s what is on the inside that really matters, what really counts for something.

DTR

 This is why I choose exclusivity. I choose exclusivity because Jesus took the nails and died on the cross exclusively so that we may have life and life more abundantly.  God took the time to create each one of us differently yet exclusively in His perfect image. God has chosen to have exclusive relationships with each and every one of us, and I don’t want to see other people.

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Fulfilling His Purpose | Philippians 2:13 | His Yes Girl, Kait

Accountability Partners for Life

Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

In several places scripture talks about how human beings are called to keep each other sharp, ready, on their toes and at their best. So how do we continuously sharpen each other? I wondered this for a long time until it recently hit me, to keep each other ‘sharp’ is to keep each other accountable. Accountability is when someone holds you responsible for the words you speak and the actions you perform, and accountability is a huge part of fellowship with each other and of our walk with God. I always say I want to be more Christ-like every day, and I want to live a life that defines being Christ-like. This type of life (to me) represents a sum of moments all throughout my life where I made the conscious decision to humble myself, be kind, gentle, and most of all loving to other people, no matter how they acted. Because I am a fallible human, I will stumble occasionally with my words and actions but the more I grow in Christ, the less frequent these slip ups will occur. In my walk with God, accountability is key.