For a while now I’ve been thinking about that controversial
word “submission.” It is often considered a dirty word by anyone who has ever
felt downtrodden. I’ve wrestled with it myself at times, but I can’t avoid what
Scripture commands:
- “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality” (Colossians 3:23-25 ESV).
- “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrew 13:17).
- “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands” (Ephesians 5:24).
- “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Romans 13:1).
Wives submitting to husbands is only one example out of
many. In a recent sermon on James 4, Alistair Begg stated that failure to
submit to one another is failure to submit to God. Sam Andreades wrote in enGendered (a book I would recommend):
“Obeying or submitting ‘as to the Lord’ is
really about trusting the One who tells you to do this… [Y]ou are doing it because you are trusting God, trusting
that God is in this picture, that He will take care of you and your own…”
(117).
Sometimes it is hard enough
just to trust that God is in control, much less to trust those He has placed in
authority in any particular situation. But it seems apparent from Scripture
that submission is expected. As an employee, a citizen, a church member, [and
spouse if I were married] my responsibility is to submit to my leaders, knowing
that they will be held accountable for their use or abuse of authority. That’s
not to say that there are never occasions for civil disobedience or removal of
authority, but that should be the exception to the rule.
As I’ve thought through the conflicting emotions related to
submission, it seems that most of the power struggle is rooted in fear. How am
I going to be hurt or what am I going to miss out on if I’m not the one in
control of this decision? Andreades wrote: “People submitting in relationship
are vulnerable, dependent upon the careful and righteous stewardship of the one
in authority” (102).
I’ll be the first to admit that the vulnerability that
comes with submission can lead to painful interactions. Trust is built slowly
as a relationship deepens, but it can be lost in an instant. None of us really
want to be vulnerable and dependent, and yet that is a big part of God’s will
for us. We are inherently dependent on Him for life, breath, daily provision,
and salvation (among other things). Our relationships on earth are a mirror of
that fundamental relationship, to remind us that we are designed to live in
community and dependence on one another. It is also a reflection of the mutual
dependence and fellowship within the Godhead.
I could raise all sorts of questions as to what submission
should look like in various contexts, but I think we each need to wrestle
through Scripture for ourselves. The conclusion that I have come to is that I
need to trust God more fully and to ask Him for clear guidance for all the
relationships in my life.
“Therefore do not be
foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is… Be filled with the Spirit…
giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ”
(Ephesians 5:17-21).
