Submit

     In Ephesians 5 wives are told to submit to their husbands as to the Lord.  Many people read this one verse & get angry.  However, if you read the rest of this chapter you will find that the man is given the harder job.  He is told to love his wife as Christ loved the church.  Christ was crucified, a horrible painful way to die, for the sake of the church.
     God is not anti-woman.  The bible has many women in it that did incredible things.  Women were some of the leaders of the early church.  When God tells a woman to submit He is not implying she is a second -class citizen.  The new testament has several instances documented that shows Jesus was extremely respectful of women and reached out to them just as he reached out to minister to men. 
     Submission does not imply you are to be a doormat or that your opinion & feelings do not matter.    It means that when it comes down to the final decision it is the husband's call.  And he is accountable to God for his decision. 
     In today's day and age I now how hard it is for a woman to be told she has to release control.  It is especially hard for me since I got married in my 30's.  I can say that submission is much easier if you marry a Godly man that you love and respect.  We have had several times in our 10 years of marriage when I have had to say to my husband this is how I feel, but the final decision is yours.  I don't envy his position.  Because if his decision is wrong he answers to God and has to deal with me.  Not really sure which is worse.  No no no, part of submission is not saying, "I told you so." 
     Now if there is an abusive relationship or the man is telling the woman to do things that are against God's commands that is an entirely different matter.  I don't want anyone to think I am saying they should allow someone to abuse them or force them to do things that are wrong.
     I know submission goes against everything the woman's lib movement wants us to believe.  However, I think not submitting is much more difficult.  God made us and knows us intimately.  He knows what is best for us and knows how we are wired.  Quite honestly a woman trying to take on a man's role is not natural and it is hard.  Woman's lib has told us we can have it all.  We can have a successful career, a successful marriage, and raise children.  Talk to women trying to do it all and they'll tell you how incredibly difficult that can be.  Talk to women that are trying to raise children on their own. 
     I am not implying the woman's place is barefoot & pregnant in the kitchen.  I am just saying we shouldn't be so quick to embrace Satan's lies.  He is out to destroy us.  He wants us to think God is old-fashioned and biblical ideas are oppressive.  Maybe we should look a little closer at what God really says and embrace what is being said to us by our loving heavenly father.