III. WHAT IS SUBJECTION?
A. RULED OVER
Psalm 106:42 (40-42)
Here the people were ruled over. They were under their hand. They were completely under their authority and power.
B. WILLINGLY
II Samuel 22:45 (44-45)
We are to submit ourselves unto our masters. We are to be ready and willing to serve them. Not begrudgingly! As soon as we hear their voices, we should be there ready to obey them, and to serve them; to do all we can to fulfill their desires. How often when our husbands call us do we yell back at them, " just a minute "? I know that I am guilty of this. Then, we usually get tiffed because they interrupted us. This certainly isn't being ready as soon as you hear their voice.
(see Psalm 18:43-44)
C. COMPLETELY
I Corinthians 15:27
In this case it says all things were put in subjection to Christ. (under his feet means subjection) The only one that is exempt is God. Christ has complete authority and rule. Just as it would not be right for the wind to continue blowing when Christ said " Stop ", it isn't right for us to buck our husbands. (see Matthew 8:23-27) It is the same subjection. They are to have that same rule and authority over us. We are way out of line whenever we start bucking them, or deciding that our ways are better.
D. HONOUR
I Timothy 6:1 & 2
We are to give all honour to our husbands, our masters. Not to do so would be to blaspheme the Word of God, or to cause it to be blasphemed by others. They are our Brethren, faithful and beloved. Do not despise them because they have rule over you. Our hearts are to be right towards them, and to do this out of love, not because we have to. This also shows the imperativeness of " counting them worthy " of all honour. It is one thing to outwardly show them honour; but do you really count your husband to be worthy of this honour? This is a very important point, and one that took me quite a while to learn. It's easy to outwardly show honour, but it's not what really counts. When you have this inward honour for your husband, then the rest comes naturally. Its all a matter of truly saying to God, " Thy will, not mine, be done! " To not let pride keep you from receiving all that God has for you.
E. PLEASING
Titus 2: 9 & 10
Here the word obedient is subject. We are to please them in all things. This goes further than just to do what we are told to do. We are to strive to make them happy. During the day when your husband is at work, do you do things that you know will make him happy, or do you figure that while he's gone you'll do the things that he'd really prefer you didn't do? This is all a part of being subject to them. Our main concern is to be for their happiness. Do the things that you know will please you husband all of the time . Most of us know our husbands well enough to know whether or not something we do pleases them. If my watching TV during the day displeases my husband, then even when he is not home, it would be wrong for me to do it, knowing that it displeases him. It certainly wouldn't kill me to do all that I could to bring happiness to my husband. Look at the phrase " not answering again ". The Greek translation reads, " not contradicting ". This also shows that we are not only not to contradict in words, but also in our actions. If we do things that go against the grain of our husband, then we are contradicting him. Finally, by showing this subjection to our husband or master, we are adorning the doctrine of God, instead of causing it to be blasphemed. This is a beautiful thought! We are adorning the doctrine of God!
F. SINGLENESS OF HEART
Ephesians 6: 5 - 8
We are to serve them with singleness of heart as unto Christ. Would you feel picked on if Christ asked you to fix him a good meal, or would you be so delighted to have him in your presence that you would go about to prepare him a feast? Our heart is to be this way towards our husbands. We are to serve them as we would if he were Christ. Our heart is to be single toward him. He is to have all of our attention and admiration. He should know without any hesitation that he has this admiration from us. If your heart is not right towards your husband, then you better repent of this and pray for the Lord to make it right. And, don't expect it to change overnight. You have to put forth effort. It may take many nights of crying out to God and honestly trying to be the wife your husband deserves. And, whether or not you think your husband is worthy of this treatment, God says he is, and it is a command for you to give it to him. When you have finally put your heart in this putty-like condition to God, then He will take over, and write this law upon your heart. He will give you this deep love for your husband, and your husband will become more Christ-like unto you. We will only get out of our marriages what we put into it. Through obedience to God, we must serve with this singleness of heart, then our marriages will be blessed from the Lord (verse 8).
G. GIVE PLACE
Galatians 2:5
This just shows that being in subjection is giving place to someone else. (In this instance they did not give place by putting themselves in subjection to them because they were false brethren.) To be in subjection is to prefer their opinions and thoughts. It is putting their wishes before your own. It does not necessarily mena that we have to change our opinions, but we are to give place to theirs. Often times when a wife gives place to her husband's desires or whatever, she will find that his way was a more better one after all.
I Corinthians 14:32
This shows we can put our thoughts subject unto us. So, are your thoughts good or evil towards your husband? There is no excuse for them not to be right. It is within your power to change those thoughts. This is one that was hard for me to realize, but after thinking on it more and more, I have found that when we earnestly seek to change our thoughts, God will honour this. When we constantly remind ourselves to think good thoughts towards our husbands, to not be so critical of them, then, eventually, (in His time) God will take over. God will reward us, and our thoughts will be good towards our husbands at all times.
H. HEARTILY
Colossians 3: 22 - 23
This goes along with that we are to do it from the heart, not just eye service or lip service. Also, this puts a new twist in it. It says to do it heartily. We are to put our all into it. Not do just enough to get us by, but put your all into it. The virtuous woman (Proverbs 31) definitely wasn't a lazy woman. She worked hard at taking care of her family. Put yourself in your husband's place and ask yourself which of these two women you would prefer to come home to. The one who has spent her day preparing him a nice dinner, and caring for his house, and making herself look nice for him, or the one who hurriedly made the house presentable, threw some T.V. dinners into the oven and didn't put forth much effort at all to make herself more beautiful for her husband? The answer is easy. Take the time to care for your husband, to make him feel like a king. The rewards are greater than I can tell in words. Some of you may be saying that it's not so easy. I agree! It's not easy. But, how much does your husband mean to you? Are you willing to serve him as unto Christ? Trust God to give you the strength to do it. After all, God wants us to do it, he certainly won't make it a punishment to us, but rather a blessing. I have to share with you here my spiritual mother, Yvonne Haas. She would have all of her housework done by 11:00 and have the rest of the day for ministering to the Lord (and many times into the night!). And, she had a large family to take care of. She was always adorned with beauty. Her husband safely trusted in her. I don't know if you know women like this, (I do believe we have a few of them running around here at RUTH) but they are shining examples of what we can accomplish with His help!
I. HUMBLING
James 4:7 ( 1 - 10 )
We are to submit ourselves to God, to humble ourselves before Him, and He will lift us up. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We are to be gracious women, and the one way we can attain this is to be humble. Let God be the one to exalt you. Whenever we try to do it ourselves, we only bring ourselves down in the eyes of others. We are to humble ourselves before God.
I Peter 5:5 ( 5 - 11 )
We are to submit ourselves to the elders, to be subject one to another, to clothe ourselves with humility. In applying this to our husbands, think about when he comes home. Do you greet him with the big " I " ? Do you make him suffer through all the daily events? Do you insist upon him niticing all the little things that you did for him during the day? Do you have to be the center of attention? Are you so wrapped up in your world that you can't take time to notice him? He is the center of attention. And, if he isn't, he should be. Your spiritual life depends upon him. He is your head, and it's up to you to see to it that your head is given his place. Get rid of the big " I " !
J. QUIETNESS - MEEKNESS
I Timothy 2: 11 - 12 ( 8 - 15 )
Here it tells us how to adorn ourselves. In shamefacedness and sobriety, and with good works. We are to learn in quietness. It shows us that we don't need words to be becoming. A gentle, gracious woman is very becoming! Men do not want loud, boisterous women telling them what to do. (Here I would like to add that Wanda has posted a study on character, it is the character that we are to be adorned with!)
K. LOVE
I Peter 3: 7 - 12 ( 1 - 12 )
In the context here it speaks of both husbands and wives. Finally in verse 8 it says for all to have compassion, love as brethren. We are not to render evil for evil. We are to bless. So many times our husbands will do something or say something, then we strike back at them. We should have so much love in us, that we can bless them in our hearts or out loud if they curse us. We shouldn't say, " Well look how you're treating me, why should I be nice to you?" This isn't having that compassion. When this happens, try to put yourself in your husband's place, and ease his burden instead of adding more to it. Have the compassion of Christ for him.