Submission Is The Path to Joy

Submit. It is such a dirty word. Even among Christians. We would like to ignore it or soften the blow, but we must face the truth. We are called to submit.

As Christians we are called to submit to God, to His laws, to His way of doing things, to His will. Oh, how our pride chaffes at that. We want to control our own destiny, be in charge of our lives, make our own choices. We want to rule our own little world. We want to be our own god. We want to make deals. If I submit to you now, you have to give in to me later.

On top of it all, women are called to submit to their husbands. Even if they are not kind, loving, caring men. We are called to act in such a way that our husbands would gain respect from others. That means that even when we disagree with a decision he has made, no one else should ever know. Man, is that a tough one. Can't I even vent just a little to my best friend? No. We must support and encourage them. We must be ready to give godly councel when asked and keep our mouths shut when we aren't.

Our husbands have an incredible burden on their shoulders. It is they who will stand before God to answer for these choices. They are the ones who are held accountable. I, for one, am glad to not have that load. I am afraid it would crush me. But, if I feel that way, I imagine that at times men must feel that too, especially if their wives are battling them over decisions they make.

Think about your husband for a minute. Do you really think that he would make choices to seek your harm? Do you really think that his greatest desire is to thwart your desires? Do you not trust that he cares for you? If you think that he truly loves you, then you need to give him the repsect he deserves. One way to do that is to submit with a cheerful, willing heart. I am not saying that it is an easy thing to do. Our pride makes it awfully difficult, but discipling ourselves to follow the lead of the one God has put as head of our household will only reap benefits in the long run.

If we wives will learn to submit to our husbands, God will bless our efforts. If we Christians would just learn to submit to our Lord, our lives would be filled with boundless joy that would spill over to those around us. Just think how glorified He would be if we would learn to submit.