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?

Daughters of a King

 

We are each unique individuals, an exceptionally diverse group of women with so many different variables and extremes. But the one thing that we all have in common is that we are loved beyond measure by our father, and our father is THE King. Therefore, we are royalty! So it is high time we put on our tiaras and start acting like the princesses that we are! We have got to start realizing our worth and value – and owning that worth and value!

Feeding the Spirit – Conditioning

Keeping up with your spiritual health is very similar to keeping up with your physical health. You’ve got to be dedicated and consistent. As long as you are maintaining those two things you can slip up a little and it usually won’t do much damage. We are not perfect, so small “cheats” and slip ups are to be expected. However, if we slack off too much there will be noticeable side effects.

1 Timothy 4:8
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for present life and the life to come.

It is easy to get caught up in the routine activities of our daily lives. We have a tendency to get complacent in our faith. Life plateaus and we just let things drift off. There is nothing going on that is exceptionally good nor is anything bad happening. We forget to give God thanks, we forget to call out to Him, we forget to include Him in our mundane daily lives, and we forget to serve Him.

Promises

Promise: a declaration that one will or will not do something; a vow.

People now days seem to take promises so lightly. We make and break promises as if it is no big deal. Or we just ignore the true meaning of the promises that we do make.

One of the greatest promises you can make in life is promising yourself to your husband (or wife). In this excerpt from “Being a Godly Wife: it starts with you,”Kaitlyn gives a wonderful definition of what marriage is.

Marriage is the covenant which God created that transforms two separate people, two separate beings, two separate lives, into one. (Gen 2:24). When two people marry and literally become one, they are not supposed to be easily separated. In fact they are not supposed to be separated at all. Marriage is a covenant between you, your significant other, and God. Marriage is becoming one half of a whole in God’s eyes. Marriage is rejoicing with God and your husband in the happy times and choosing to stick with God’s word and your husband in the not-so-happy times. Marriage is a covenant (commitment) not a “just for now” situation.

This makes me think of the vows that my husband and I made to one another only a few months ago.