We're Americans. You know, "the land of the free." And, although it's a myth, we're mostly free. In earlier eras the rank and file were used to submitting, but not us. Oh, no. "No kings." "No tyrants." "Don't tread on me." We will not bend. So it is often a problem when we come across such things as the one that says we're supposed to be "submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Eph 5:21). Often it's the particulars that trip us up. "Wives submit? No way!" "Children, obey? Yeah, right." Oh, and "Slaves, obey? That's not even right." But what about "submit"?
The word in the text is a military term. It means literally to rank under ... to place oneself under. Like in the military when you sign up and immediately find yourself outranked. It's not that you're less important, less of a person, less valuable. No. It's a matter of rank. Authority. Priority. Paul says we are to be submitting to one another -- ranking under each other. Note that it's voluntary. By that, I mean it's something you choose to do. It doesn't just ... happen. Do it. Notice also that it's universal. "To one another." Everyone. Paul gives examples in husband and wife relationships, parent and child relationships, and master and slave relationships (Eph 5:22-6:9). Don't get bogged down in the examples. Everyone ... submit. Set self aside. Paul wrote the same thing in Philippians. "... with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" (Php 2:3-4). That's "submit." Rank yourself under others.
We don't like it, but it's in there. In fact, it's all the way through. Jesus was the example, emptying Himself (Php 2:5-8). And it's not easy. Paul precedes the command to submit with the command to "be filled with the Spirit" (Eph 5:18) because it's a God thing. But it's the right thing. We are supposed to live a submitted life, where we elevate others over ourselves. Will you? Will you deny yourself (Matt 16:24)?
Excellent point. Too many people act as if submitting involves being forced to obey someone, when it is clearly a voluntary choice. If force or coercion from another person is involved, then it's not Biblical submission.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem far fetched to note that submission is similar to the attitude of "Do unto others" or "Love your neighbor as your self".
It makes sense that we refuse to submit, since that has been the problem with humanity since Adam and Eve.
ReplyDeleteI found the military reference helpful--a good reminder that positions of authority are in view in the husband-wife submission dynamic, rather than an attribution of greater/lesser value, worth, or importance. (I believe that too many women misunderstand that and therefore feel demeaned as a person and a marital partner when no personal or general disrespect is intended or indicated.)
ReplyDeleteI do have this thought about “mutual submission” (partly in jest but mostly in seriousness): If everyone defers to the others, how will anything get settled or decided in the end? Like a game of reverse leap frog, if each says “no, you first” to the others, who will take charge? At some point, those roles and that ranking (master over slave, parent over child, husband over wife) ultimately come into play, as eventually the mutual submission must end (in a way).
Lorna, I agree that you mutual submission taken to that extreme could be a problem.
DeleteHowever, (as you note) if the military analogy holds True then there is a point where the "higher ranking" person asserts the authority of their position to settle the issue? Yet, if there is really that kind of back and forth, wouldn't it be obvious that the decision is coming from a place of love and wanting what's best? It also seems like acknowledging mistakes and poor decisions plays into the dynamic as well.
Lorna, as I indicated in my post, "mutual submission" doesn't look the same for everyone. A wife submits to her husband "as to the Lord" and a husband gives up self "as Christ." Scripture is abundantly clear that there are God-given authority structures that must be observed, but in that a father, for instance, is commanded not to not provoke his children even though he is the authority in the home.
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