Ephesians 5:22
“Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord.”
This is the divine order. Our culture rages against it. It has been abused, so some criticism of it is due, but it still remains His order. Satan hates anything of God, so he attacks it. The woman’s movement targets it. There are some in this movement that don’t like men, so many in there are biased.
What does this mean for a wife to submit to her husband? It doesn’t mean the husband can be a dictator. A healthy marriage must have equality. It’s far better if a husband earns this. The wife would happily submit to the husband who would lay down his life for her. Not just in literal death, but daily in being a servant. That is the husband has a attitude of a servant leader.
It also doesn’t mean the husband makes all the decisions. My wife is smart, so her input is huge. There are many areas where she is more gifted than I, so she does those.
What does it mean? I would say the direction of the family should be from the husband. I am a christian, so the beatitudes are the direction our family goes. We seek to be humble, we seek God, we’re peacemakers, we hunger for righteousness, we know we are poor in spirit, so we seek Him, we attempt to be merciful and so on.
My wife is a godly woman, so I know that God directs her. There have been things that came to mind that I suggested as things to do. If my wife responds positively, we do it. If she doesn’t, we don’t. I believe God is in that.
The end of the passage says, “as to the Lord”. The wife is to submit to the husband as both of them submit to the Lord. Honestly, I’m surprised that’s in the bible. But there it is. This isn’t a suggestion, but God’s order. Culture slams this. Of course, if the husband asks her to do something unbiblical, she isn’t to go there.
Some may think, “Wouldn’t this make her miserable?” It’s of God, so no. I would say because it’s of God it would increase her joy. As our obedience to Him brings joy. I’ve heard it said, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” If the husband is doing that, then it could be inspirational.
If one doesn’t follow Christ, there is distortion. He may not be leading well, so she may not feel right about this. It’s still his order, unless he asks something unbiblical. I Peter 3:1 says, “Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.”
As christians, we march to the beat of a different drummer. We need not be ashamed, but confident as we follow Him. We are children of the God of the universe. He built it and sustains it. We are following the One who is the most brilliant. He knows what He’s doing. We aren’t to worry about what the world says.
Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” We were created to be in relationship with God. Keeping focused on Jesus causes many problems to be put in a proper perspective. Worries about our own needs lessen. He’s got us.
Lord, thank You for Your Word and Your guidance. Help us to keep looking to You.