Submission isn’t a dirty word. But if words were high school students, it would be the student who regularly gets shoved into the lockers at Dictionary High School. Nevertheless, submission is virtuous. Submission is also inescapable. Because it’s both virtuous & inescapable, it’s also possible to be perverted & abused.
First off, God commands us to submit to Him in order to resist the devouring jowls of Satan. In submission to God is true salvation. This is what faith is: “Not my will, but thine be done.”
This dance of authority and submission is necessary throughout all of human interaction. The mother who is bedraggled by her brood of bombastic bambinos might be perplexed to learn that her unsubmissive children are simply imitating her snarky belittling of her husband. The husband may also be frustrated that no matter how loudly he bangs on the table, his family doesn’t pay him homage. Perhaps this is because his tongue is liberal in complaining about his boss and congress and the elders and his parents and the Jews.
Submission is putting yourself under the power of another; Which can be frightening in the case of a malicious power. It is foolish to submit yourself to unlawful or ungodly powers. But true submission to a lawful authority is entrusting your future, your will, your energy, and your very self to another.
Such entrustment should never be taken lightly by those set in authority. A bride entrusts her whole future into her husband’s hands; his work ethic, his use of free time, his resourcefulness, his financial management all impact her. An infant is born entirely dependent on the tender nurture of his parents. Where you are in authority, wield it with love and truth. Where you’re duty bound to submit, do so from the overflow of your faith in Christ.
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