TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY AUGUST 2, 2013.
SUBMISSION
DEFINITION:
To give over or yield to the power or
authority of another; yielding; obedient.
SCRIPTURE:
Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to
every authority instituted among men. I Peter 2:13.
Wives, submit to your husband’s as is
fitting in the Lord. Husbands love your wives and do not be harsh to them.
Colossians 3:18-19
You younger people, submit yourselves to
your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another. I Peter 5:5.
One who rules his own house well, having
his children in submission with all reverence. I Timothy 3:4.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
We are living in a day and age when one
uses the word "submission" they will get in return a strange look or
even a sneering remark. Many are saying that we are living in "the ME
generation." This is when a person lives for "me" only and for
no one else. To these people the word or thought of submission is not in their
vocabulary. As you can see in the four verses we have listed above, the Bible
has a lot to say about God's requirement for us concerning being submissive.
We all have a mind of our own and a
desire to do things our way and in our own timing. Our natural tendency is not
to want to be submissive. This is nothing new. It goes back to the Garden of
Eden. First Eve, then Adam, rebelled against submitting to God's command not to
eat the forbidden fruit. That was when trouble began.
As new parents we were amazed at how
soon our sweet little bundle of joy developed a mind of his or her own and had
no desire to submit to our will. You just get to sleep and your child is wide
awake demanding attention and just wants to play. You know whose will wins out.
That is only the beginning. They only get more demanding as they grow up so it
is soon quite evident they have a lot to learn about submission. Parents need
to start training their children at a very early age the meaning of submission
and what God requires of us as believers concerning being submissive.
Submission to God is necessary to
prevent discord and chaos. The Bible teaches that we are to be submissive,
first of all to God, and obey His commandments. The tragic actions of Adam and
Eve and the consequences that resulted from them are evidence of the importance
of being submissive to God. Jesus set the example for us by submitting to the
will of the Father and was "obedient to death, even death on the
cross." (Philippians 2:9). How can we do any less then to submit ourselves
to God, the Father, our Lord and creator.
The Bible teaches that we are to be
submissive in our marriage. Colossians 3:18 instructs us that wives should
submit to their husbands as to the Lord. In this day of "women's lib"
this is not a popular concept. Nevertheless, it is what God says. It is not
popular because it has been misinterpreted and misused as giving the husband
unlimited authority. They forget that the Lord commands husbands how to love
and treat their wives.
The Bible's teaching on marriage
relationships requires the man to be the spiritual leader of the family and the
wife is to acknowledge his leadership role. A loving and caring husband will
not take advantage of his leadership role and be a demanding tyrant. Likewise,
a wife who loves and cares for her husband will not undermine her husband's
leadership. There must be a mutual submission between husband and wife, with
each striving to be a true help-mate. Submission is what brings harmony and
unity in a marriage. There has to be a lot of give and take in a marriage.
In Ephesians, the apostle Paul tells us
that children should obey their parents. This is being submissive to their
parents and parents need to teach their children to be submissive in both their
words and their actions. In I Timothy 3:4, Paul also reminds us that God
requires us as parents to be overseerers of our children, "One who rules
his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence."
Peter tells us in I Peter 5:5,
"Likewise you younger people submit to your elders. Yes, all of you be
submissive to one another and be clothed with humility, for God resists the
proud, but gives grace to the humble."
The Bible also tells us that we must be
submissive to those in authority over us. Peter tells us to submit to those who
have a legitimate authority over us for the Lord's sake. It honors the Lord
when we are law abiding and obedient to those in authority over us. The only
exception is that if obedience to an authority would cause us to be disobedient
to God.
As parents, we must teach our children
to be submissive not only to us as parents, but to their teachers and others
who have authority over them.
In today's society we have rebelled
against being submissive to anyone except "me." It is time that we as
believers begin anew to be submissive first to God, then to our spouses,
children, parents, family, leaders and the result will be that God will bless
us.
LEARNING:
Our memory verse for this week is found
in Philippians 1:21.
For to me to live is Christ and to die
is gain.
PRAYER:
Help me to control my desire to have
things my way and give me a willingness to be submissive. Help me to be
submissive, first of all, to You and secondly to my spouse. Guide us as we
teach our children to be submissive. May others see Christ in us as they see
our submission to our Lord.
