Our society can rant and rave all it wants. It can stand up and assure us that patriarchy is not only dead, but that it's a good thing it's dead. They can assure us that if you claim there is a difference between the sexes you're sexist and evil and hateful. They can even smuggle it into our churches and our pulpits and our dogma. None of this changes the fact that Scripture argues differently. God's Word says that Adam was created first (Gen 2:7, 18; 1 Tim 2:13). God's Word says that Adam, not Eve, was responsible for Man's sinful condition (1 Tim 2:13-14; Rom 5:12). God's Word says "the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God" (1 Cor 11:3). Not popular or acceptable today, perhaps, even among believers, but it's in there, and if we're going to submit to God and His revealed truth, we will have to submit to this.
The problem, of course, is the gut response that arises every time (I don't think I exaggerate that) this comes up. "You're demeaning women!" "You're sexist!" "The genders are of equal value!!" So we spend more time defending God and His Word than examining what it looks like in practice. For instance, no matter how many times it is addressed, "We agree without reservation that both genders are of equal value" doesn't seem to be heard. So we struggle with the basics instead of moving on to the application.
And the message is missed.
What message? The message is not about us; it's about God. It starts with "I'm in charge ... not you." ("The head of Christ is God.") This should be a sublime relief. "Oh, good! We are not alone here. We are not merely on our own." We delight in "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Heb 13:5), but balk when He says, "I'm in charge." That is, "Sure, fine, we're happy to have You here to assist us; just don't get in our way." An ugly thing to say to God. To men He says, "Christ is over you." ("The head of every man is Christ.") Again, we're fine with the help, just not the authority. To women He says, "I've arranged for you to be protected, supported, and cared for by your husband." ("The head of a wife is her husband.") Nowadays, often even among Christians, the response is "Oh, no ... no thanks. We can do this on our own and we don't need any demeaning man around to help, let alone to lead." In these cases, again, we tell God, "No thanks."
The message is not about us; it's about God. But it's also a call to us. The minute we read, "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord" (Eph 5:22), a storm begins. It gets dark and cloudy and you can expect a blow. The message, however, is for men to step up. The requirement is for husbands to sacrifice themselves completely to the needs and support of their wives (Eph 5:25-27). When God tells women to "keep silent in the churches" (1 Cor 14:34), He does it with the requirement that husbands be ready to step up to any question she might have (1 Cor 14:35). When He tells wives to be subject to husbands who aren't even obedient to the Word (1 Peter 3:1), He does it with the command for husbands to treat their wives with understanding and deep respect (1 Peter 3:7). These are not commands to women as much as to men. Women are commanded to rest in God's provision; men are commanded to work.
But we don't get it. We're fighting over submission. We're fighting over the meaning of the words. We're trying to avoid "wives, submit" at any level. And guys get off scot-free. No one is noticing that men are called to lay it all on the line for God and for their wives. They can just sit back and listen to the squabbling over "wives, submit." It's not a call to lord it over anyone; it's a call to serve for Christ. Message missed.
No comments:
Post a Comment