Submission Oh My! (Part 3)

 Gud Morning pals, hope you've been enjoying the submission series. OK, here goes the dose for today.

But what if …

he asks me to do something wrong, hurtful, sinful?

Just say no (politely).  It’s that simple. You don’t have to be mean about it (in fact it’s always a good idea to be respectful), but just say no. Carefully explain why you would not be able to go his way at that point. I have heard a lot of people say, "just do whatever he asks you to do even if its wrong or sinful, God understands". My point in disagreeing with this school of thought stems from the scripture below.

In Acts 5:17-41 we have the story where the apostles were imprisoned for preaching the Gospel.  Here’s a small portion.

The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.  ”We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”  Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!  The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”  Acts 4:27-32  (NIV)

They said no.  The Sanhedrin didn’t ask them to pay a tax.  They didn’t ask them to pick up their socks.  They didn’t ask them to have a report done by Friday.  The Sanhedrin asked them to stop preaching the Gospel, something God told them to do.
If your husband asks you for a threesome, say no (stay sexually pure).  If he asks you to lie, say no (speak the truth).  You are responsible for what you say and do. Remind him that Christ is the overall head, even of the husband and obedience to Him supercedes everyother thing.

I tell you the truth that if he already knows how submissive you've been and understands that you do not mean to be disrespectful by saying no to his request, he will appreciate having a godly wife by his side.

Some teachings that say you should submit even if your authority tells you to do wrong is usually followed with (Genesis 20) where Sarah obeyed Abraham and lied to save his life. My personal take is that Sarah did not completely lie about Abraham being her brother and that scripture is not a commendation for the specific times she lied.

I have to point to the New Testament story of Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10).  Her husband sold some land and asked her to lie about the selling price of the land.  Didn’t go too well for either of them.  He died the moment he lied.  A bit later she died when she lied.

Telling a lie is bad.  It’s a sin.  God says don’t lie.  If anyone tells you to lie.  Just say no.  If anyone asks you to do wrong.  Just say no.  Submitting is like you and your husband going on a pathway and he taking the lead. It does not mean you have to close your eyes because he is the one in the front, follow him but still keep your eyes on the path, he could be carried away and not see a ditch and if you also get carried away, both of you will end up in the ditch. Do not follow people blindly, keep your brain in gear.

Now here lets take a  look at this list

What happens when there is no submission

• you are implying he is not intelligent/capable/competent
• it means you have not completely accepted him
• implying that you are superior to him morally/spiritually etc.
• displaying contempt for who he is as a man – not accepting him
• It sounds like telling him what to do/bossing him
• taking control of the marriage/family and not allowing him to fulfill his God-given leadership position
• putting him down, criticizing him, belittling him
• body language that communicates contempt/hatred/judgment
• implying that you respect other men more than you respect him
• implying he is not a good father
• undermining his authority as a father

These are all my personal take on the subject of submission, I am not an authority in the field but the word of God and experience has thought me these. Since every marriage is unique, you can go ahead and discuss this with your husband. Let him know how much you want to be submissive and let him tell you want he personally considers as submission.

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