I was offended by of their ignorance of the Scriptures.
I know that submission has been used very wrongly in the world by men who do not love their wives as Christ loves the Church. This is very sad because it has distorted the principle of love, selfless, generous love. This is the kind of love involved in submission.
I am not afraid of submission. I was blessed with a great home life and married a very non-controlling man, so I have my background going for me in this area. However, I do have pride, and I am controlling. So while I may not be daily challenged in this area, I do struggle with submitting to Erik in certain situations.
For example, I'm a bit of an over-committed type. I like to try and fit as much as possible into one time frame. When we leave on vacation, I like to run last minute errands, like the post office and the library and perhaps the store for supplies we'll need on our trip and maybe try and squeeze in a play date. This stresses Erik out to no end. I'm an optimist when it comes to time, what can I say? Well, after 10 years of marriage I still think there's nothing wrong with this cram-session and Erik hates it. So, in submission I've learned to say no to get-togethers on the departure day, and run my errands earlier in the week. Of course I'm still working on it.
I know this example is insignificant when compared with the potential Presidential decision to bomb Iran. However, I think the heart is the same.
Submission is all about trust. Can we trust God to do what He wants when our flesh screams out to do it our way? Can we trust that God is doing something in every situation? When we choose His way (what submission is!) we honor Him. Can we do that in all situations?
I, for one, applaud Bachmann's decision to trust her husband with her future. She came out better for it.
Furthermore, I don't see Mr. Bachmann as the interfering type. So when it comes to national security matters I don't think he'll be pulling the strings, exercising his own agenda. If they are in a Godly marriage then he will be praying for his wife, advising her on matters of the home, helping her in whatever capacity she needs. Because you see, the same Bible verse that says a woman should submit to her husband also says "Husbands love your wives as Christ loves the Church."
Okay, I don't have much time to go back over this and edit. Kids are screaming and I've ignored them long enough today! Let me know what you think. Do you think I'm scripturally off base?
3 comments:
I think you are dead on in terms of submission. Submission is not an act of weak yielding to strength, it is strength demonstrating strength of conviction. Women who submit to their husbands, in a Biblical way, not in an abusive or tyrannical relationship, are strong women. They have usually powered over their own flesh to do so. (My flesh often tells me not to submit...and it is my will and the choice to submit that demonstrates strength. Not to say that I don't struggle with it at times, but I have a similarly non-controlling husband who does not demand my submission, but inspires it. I would also point out that in Ephesians, directly before women are instructed to submit to their husbands, that it says "Submit yourselves one to another." I truly believe that God gives that instruction, so that men do not Lord themselves over their wives, but realize that sometimes they will need to submit (put aside their own flesh) in the best interest of the family or their wife. They are doing what God requires.
It is truly a gift to have a marriage where the husband understands what God expects of him. :)
Good discussion Jessica!
I have to say that I completely disagree with you on this. I am a Christian, attended a Christian University, regularly go to church and read the Bible. This particular topic is something that I have very strong feelings about. I don't believe that a loving God would view men and women unequally and say that women need to submit to their husbands and men should love their wives as they love the church. That's basically like saying "women, you need to do whatever your husband tells you to and men, you better love her a lot". Not equal and not happening. I am marrying one of the nicest, most supportive, loving men I've ever met and we've had discussions about this topic because as much as I love him, I could never in a million years marry him if he had this viewpoint. If Michelle Bachmann, or any other woman for that matter, wants to be a submissive wife, then that's their choice and I couldn't care less. BUT, they shouldn't be running for President. As a women, I am 100% in disagreement with this viewpoint, and this has nothing to do with being ignorant of the scriptures...I do not take every single verse in the Bible literally and I would hope that God would love woman just as much as he loves men and that he wouldn't command to be submissive.
Thank you ladies for your responses.
Becky, your encouragement was timely, as usual!
Amanda, thank you so much for having the courage to bring up your point of view. I'm so grateful that you have chosen to love Jesus and serve Him with your life. However, we disagree on whether or not to take the Word literally. I believe that what the Word says in Ephesians about Christ's love being a model for us as humans to love each other.
God loves man and woman the same. There is no differentiating His Love for us between sexes. The difference is in our flesh and how we Love him back. And neither one is SUPERIOR! The New Testament is full of examples of how women and men have their roles in the Church.
The point of the Gospel is love. Love your wife, love your husband. But the way love is demonstrated by a man and wife are different. Not unequal. Just different. Not superior, just different.
My point in the post is that if a woman is willing to submit to her husband in disagreements, this doesn't disqualify her from holding public office in my opinion.
Thanks again for your comments! I love lively discussions! Blessings to you both!
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