Again, the answer to this type of question all depends on whether or not you wish to submit to God. The question here is not, at the bottom level, submission to husbands, but to God. If your intent is to submit to God, then the answer is very simple:
The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control (1 Cor 7:3-5).
This is the principle: “Do not regard your body as your own.” Now, that may sound odd, even frightening, but remember the previous topic. As long as he is not suggesting sin (and you are checking carefully to be sure it is sin, not just something you don’t like), you can be confident that it is God who is in charge. There is a section of this passage addressed to husbands (He is not to regard his body as his own), and if he is reading the next section as he should and following through, it gets even easier for you, but his acceptance of God’s principles is not the guideline for you to follow God’s instructions or not.
And this principle goes beyond the bedroom. “Do not regard your body as your own” when it comes to getting him something to drink or cleaning the house. “Do not regard your body as your own” when it deal with how he likes you to wear your hair, for instance. Again, I’m not including any demands for sin. But let’s face it, the normal objection is not to a sinful request, but to an inconvenient one. And if you are intending to submit to God, inconvenience is not the line to draw.
1 comment:
Most godly women do not object to submitting to their husbands... at least the ones in my circle of Christian women. I see a multitude of ungodly women and men who disrespect and all other manner of illustrations of love gone cold.
Your circle is in the community of Christian men. Therefore, there isn't a lot of sin happening in either of our circles.
However, there is a great deal more sin between husband and wife than you indicate here or than we see in our circles, which is such a sad thing.
I am a strong advocate of submission to husband, especially when the husband loves God more than all else. I truly do not mind being Number 2 :)
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