Currently, women are far surpassing men in education and the work force.
In society we are failing to teach boys what it means to be a MAN.
The value of a strong back and strong man has nearly been diminished because we are mainly city dwellers.
Everywhere we turn men are being juvenalized, made a mockery of and portrayed as stupid. Just turn on nearly any sitcom and even some cartoons!
Women are self sufficient, they can do it by themselves. Our men are believing this.
The traditional family has taken a backseat to political correctness.
What happened to men being our heroes?
Is this what we women think will happen if we allow men one up on us??
Some movements of feminism have been very beneficial, but many have also been detrimental. I understand that movements to give women basic rights were needed and I am thankful for that. I don't want to take away from that or lead people to believe that we should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen while our husbands shout orders at us. I believe we should be joyfully barefoot and pregnant while our husbands joyfully provide for us and treat us like the church as Jesus teaches.
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies." Ephesians 5: 25-28
As women we are not doormats. But, we were made for a purpose. We were made to serve God and to serve the man that he puts in to our lives. By service I mean this...
"Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." Ephesians 5: 22-24
I understand that the word "submission" is hard for most of us. We don't want to be seen as less in anything. But let me ask you this. Was the church less to Jesus? I think not. We play an immensely important role in the lives of our families and to those around us. We all know that without the women our men would be lost. And without our men, we would be left unfulfilled.
So, let's allow our men to be MEN. To become lovers of God, of us, of their children and of those around them. To lead their families as God intended.
So many of us are afraid to allow their men to be the head of the household. I understand, I am one of those women. I have a LOT of work to do in this area. If we let go of that control, we would be hard pressed to find evidence that women should be in control of everything.
And don't forget that you play an integral part of leading others to Christ, dependant upon how you behave in your marriage.
"Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives." 1 Peter 3:1-2
Go. Be a woman, a powerful one at that. But do so while submitting to the men in your lives and you will experience the fullest that God has to give you.
There is a lot of power in being a submissive wife. What greater act of self control is there than biting your tongue, sucking it up, and letting your man be the leader of the household? Gould post Biz. I really really liked it. The 12 others did too I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteWhen I actually comply, it's one of the hardest things I've done in my life! Thanks.
DeleteOh Yeah! Katie I love this one. I know that my marriage has become stronger and our love has grown when we finally addressed this. I love the leadership of my husband and he is more the man I always wanted now rather then when I was always dominating. God knows best and when I didn't know Him I thought I did. Boy was I wrong. Love you!
ReplyDeletekatie, i totally agree that our men are losing their true manliness. and i agree that we (women) have had a hard time with submissiveness due to our sin and pride. but, i also think it is extremely important to discuss that it is also due to the excessive abuse of the truth. the world's history has been full of men abusing women and ruling over women in both subtle and glaringly horrific ways (as you alluded to). but, the bible tells us that women are to be submissive to *their own* husbands. this has been taken by some and turned into a sweeping generalization that women are to serve men everywhere and it is pure perversion of scripture. it not only happens in obvious/abusive situations, but is often sweetly and subtly preached from the pulpit. wrong theology is being taught by men AND women on this subject. i've read so many books, written by women, on the woman's role in marriage and have been pretty disappointed in the messages they are giving. over-generalization runs rampant. most of them describe women's roles as strictly being home with the kids, doing laundry, cooking meals, and if you're one of the lucky ones, helping with the women's ministry. while i, obviously think these are important jobs we wives do, (i'm a stay-at-home mom for goodness sake) i also think women's roles look different in every marriage according to the gifts and desires we've been given individually. not all women are meant to or able to have children. not all women are good at ironing or cooking. their roles look different than mine. and, although i did laugh at your picture of the woman getting a spanking (because i know what you're saying with it) i think that because of the abuses that have happened (because of sin) some women are, in fact, afraid of being beaten down (whether verbally, physically, or just out of the misguided expectations of their elders, husbands, or social groups). the submissive role of women needs to be told from many walks of life and not just from mine. i think it is short-sighted and condescending when the only contributions i hear from women in the church is about keeping a tidy home and keeping your man happy. training up my children and loving my husband are central to this season of my life, but, i feel that it is only part of my story here on earth. katie, i have such respect for you. thanks for starting the conversation. it's so important!
ReplyDeleteand i apologize for how long that comment is. have an opinion much? geez.
ReplyDeleteI understand. There is a lot to be said about this. Too much to put in one blog post, but I always like getting people to think whether they agree with me or not! Thought is better than complacency. I think using our lives as an example is the best that we can do. It's a tough job being a woman.
DeleteThis is so good, thank you K! You been watching any Paul Washer or what?!?! :)~
ReplyDeletei'm pushing the "like" button on your response katie :) sorry again about how long that comment was. this is something i get a little fired up about partly because of having some bad examples in my own life and having felt like i was supposed to be something that neither me or my husband thought was right. thankful that eleven years later we are finally starting to figure out a bit of what god had been trying to teach us from the beginning. we've been going through some major refinement :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this. I cannot stress enough the importance of SOCKS!!! As much as i hate to admit this a breaks my heart... but our son has chosen to live the homeless life.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree men are portrayed more and more as awkward, bumbling, wimps. I do, however, think that our society's men have become less masculine. I can't stand seeing teenage boys wearing skinny jeans while listening to their favorite emo band whine about how their parents screwed them up.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
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