What does it mean to be a submissive wife? Does it mean to be controlled by your husband? Does it mean to serve him as Jesus serves the church? What exactly does it mean?
Often times I hear women debate this subject, typically believers vs non-believers, and it appears to me as though non-believers have a very erroneous or warped understanding of submissive wives. Taken out of context this text appears to say one thing but when read in it's entirety, the meaning is clear. "Wives, submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged." Colossians 3:18-21.
The text is stating the rules of a Christian household and addresses all that dwell within it. Being a submissive wife is not about being controlled by your husband, but rather trusting in him entirely. It is taking care of the home completely. It is taking care of the children, him, and yourself both physically and emotionally. In turn, he takes care of the children, you, and himself financially and spiritually. It is about having a partnership with Christ Jesus at the forefront. It is about setting aside your selfish desires to give your husband what he needs, be it emotionally or physically, to fulfill his role in marriage that Christ has laid on him.
Being a submissive wife is difficult. It takes courage, patience, and above all else Jesus to walk with you in it. It takes dedicated prayer, and yet we as women will never be perfect at it. We will continue to fall short, not only in our own eyes but in the eyes of our husbands at times as well. The good news though, is regardless of those short comings, because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross and the grace extended to us through that, He still loves us and will continue to walk with us in our journey. Being a submissive wife is something I want to be, yet something I fail at everyday. How easy would it be to give up and walk away from that lifestyle? How easy would it be to say to him "do it yourself?" The walk away from the Lord is the easiest thing one can do, but the walk along side Him is the most rewarding.
I wanted to write this tonight for a number of reasons. One, to get away from the daily stresses of school, work, and life as it is. And two, to hopefully show one person that is confused by what it means to be a submissive wife, that being submissive is rewarding. We have been given a gift in our husbands, and we should be honored to take such care of it on a daily basis. Being a submissive wife is not being controlled by a man, it is honoring the Lord and nothing is greater than that.
This is such a nice blog article. It's nice to have these views early on in your marriage. Many women learn these lessons too late in life, only to regret that their marriages would have been better had they understood submission early on.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post. I really enjoyed reading it. I agree with it wholeheartedly.
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