Did I get your attention? There's a couple of verses in the Bible that seem to cause a lot of problems in some marriages and I want to share them with you:

For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. (Ephesians 5:22-23)

Through the years of Christendom this has caused a lot of heartache for many marriages. In particular, when husbands use the verses as their "magical trump card" to get their way in an argument or disagreement with their wife. "The magical trump card" is my favorite term to use with husbands who've figured out how to abuse these two verses in the Bible to further their own selfish ambitions.

But did you know there is something important, even Biblical, you must learn about these verses. There's a verse in the Bible that is extremely important, and in fact, puts those two verses in to context, and it occurs right before them in Ephesians 5:21:

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Secondly, there's the entire focus of the Bible, in particular the New Testament, which is to live a life like Christ. If you understand Christ's life at all, you'd never have a "magical trump card" because your entire existence would be to lay down your life for the life of others (i.e. your wife). To be selfless…a servant…to die to yourself so you could meet the needs of those around you (i.e. your wife)!

It's just a thought about the word submission. At this point in the discussion with a man who thinks submission means that his wife is to do his will without question, I casually mention these several important things and then point out that the reason they are visiting me is that "clearly, this attitude isn't working out too well for you."

To read more posts by Michael please visit his website at www.crashintolove.com. His posts cover topics such as parenting, marriage, family, and more.

© Copyright 2007 Smalley Relationship Center

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