The men’s meme is going pretty good and I like the addition of a man’s point of view on a couple posts a week. There are so many women in my family that testosterone is a pleasant change. So I just asked Tom to leave the Man Cave and he should be here shortly to answer the following question and his comments will be in BLUE:
“Aren’t you excited for the new question tonight Tom?Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Colossians 3:18 New International Bible
What do you think that the above Bible verse means, and how do you apply it (if you do) in your household?
“Oh yeah.”
“So, I know what my take is and I’m ready to hear your take on this very controversial Bible scripture.”
“Surely this is a tough law for a woman to have dictated to her by a man. If it is taken out of its scriptural context, it is little more than unrighteous dominion, a longstanding, chauvinist dynamic in many marriages naturally resulting in resentment and an absence of love.”
I can’t imagine any woman being comfortable with just that statement. A better arrangement of the concept is found in Corinthians 11:3 and it reads:
…The head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
Taken altogether, this would suggest that a wife is commanded to sustain and support her husband in so far as he is obedient to Christ and treats the woman with His attributes. This is rare.
A better approach for both marriage partners is to find happiness and satisfaction in progress towards these commandments in lieu of perfection.
Or more simply, I Corinthians 11:11:
Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
Hmmm…chicken or the egg comes to mind. Yet another of God’s many mysteries.
Christians are taught John 15:13:
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
“Thanks Tom.”
“You’re welcome honey.”
I guess he won’t be sleeping on the couch after all.
Well don't forget the verses that speak on how the man ought to treat his wife following that (Ephesians 5):
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, …
The verse goes on and on. Beautiful really. None of us our to have dominion over one or the other but we do have our own specific roles. Nice topic!
Thanks Again Redhead Riter,
Once again your husband's response was wonderful. I'm so glad that he isn't going to be sleeping on the couch tonight. The couch can get rather lumpy…I know from experience :-).
Being submissive is nowadays translated as being abused and downtrodden. This isn't what the scripture is about. It's about women having respect for, taking into account, considering and thinking highly of their husbands, but also, like Joy pointed out, a husband must also have respect for, consider, take into account and think good of his wife.
It's about making the statement that marriage is a two person thing. It takes two working together to make it succeed. To submit means to take into consideration, to take feelings into account. It doesn't necessarily mean "doing as you're told", but it does mean to listen to your husband's views rather than having the "Stuff what he says…" mentality that many now have.
I loved your interview! He seems to have a good head on his shoulders either to agree with what the Bible says or to stay on your good side! LOL!
I mentioned the interview in passing to my hubby, and his only statement was It's not. Meaning it doesn't come into play at our house. Not ENTIRELY TRUE, but at the same time he's always throwing that up to me and I'm always saying if he was in God's will, I would be more submissive. He doesn't understand that part. He is one of those who think if he says jump I should ask "How HIGH"? NOT! It's not gonna happen. I have told him it's not "what he says, but how he says it which determines "how high I would jump. LOL Anyway, I wasn't able to get an interview from him tonight, I may try again tomorrow.
I saw that you cam by about 14 minutes before I finished up my post. Sorry I missed you. My desk top is the the repair shop and I working on my lap top. For some reason it's slower than molasses tonight. I guess it's good old hughes net, our weather is changing again. I keep hoping I'll catch up with you eventually.
Love ya Bunches!
PJ
I'm no bible scholar, but I like Tom's thoughts. marriage is a partnership…like a corporation is run by a Chairman and a CEO
You have a Wondeful hubby – both for being willing to blog with you and for respecting a beautiful scripture as it is written! 😉 looking forward to following you! Jenn ~