We Need to Talk About Submission

By: American Decency Staff

Maybe you’ve been there — a personal conversation, a Christian conference, a popular blog — where the mere mention of “submission” is followed by a verbal frenzy:

• An apology for the mention (“I know, we don’t want to hear it, but . . .”).
• An apology for God (“He’s not being unfair . . . I know it may seem that way . . .”).
• A bow to feminism (“Women are some of the most powerful people on the planet, amen?”).
• An escape clause (“God understands how hard this is . . .”).

I find myself surprised when someone speaks in a straightforward manner of the God-ordained role of a wife to lovingly support and submit to her husband (who has his own God-ordained expectations as he submits to Christ). Increasingly, it seems, the subject is deemed unfit for polite conversation, even among believers — even from the pulpit.

Perhaps as a woman, this should please me. The further we drift from talk of submission, the easier my life becomes. With tacit agreement that this is hard, outdated, and maybe even unfair, I am free to embrace a measure of leadership, assertiveness, and other “natural gifts” in my home.

But as a follower of Christ, my desire is to see Jesus glorified, not my flesh. And submission is tied directly to the glory and honor due to our Lord and his word. The dialogue may not be replete with “amens,” but here are three reasons we need to talk unapologetically about submission.

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