Do As I Say

 When I encounter women who are pissed at their husbands to the point of hearing them both belittle and degrade said husband, I am reminded EXACTLY why it is that I am single. I made the very same mistake(s) many women do when it comes to getting married.  I married the wrong man.  When I say that, when I say I married the wrong man, I'm not saying that he was wrong, bad, nasty, incredibly ignorant, base, or immoral - - well yes, I am saying that because he was, but for the sake of this blog I'm saying that the man in question isn't necessarily the problem. There are times ladies, myself included, when WE are to blame because WE said yes when he asked us to marry him. WE said yes to ALL that is supposed to mean. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY YES?  It means we'll be willing to submit and subject ourselves to his authority and if WE (me) don't believe he has any authority over us then well WE are the problem - - he may also be a contributory factor but if WE said yes and then don't do what we are commanded to do through the Word, we are the ones who need to take the blame for it.  I learned this the hard way, it's the only reason I can say what I'm saying now. I have and am placing 100% of the failure of my marriage on myself EVEN though the man I married was in fact a complete and utter disaster, I am the one who agreed to marry him. No one put a gun to my head and forced me to say "I do".

In the book of Ephesians Paul tells us that a wife should submit herself to her husband as she would submit herself to Christ.  If she is unwilling to submit herself to Christ there is no reason to assume she will follow the rules and vows to begin with, but if she is a Christian, and she will submit her life and her obedience to Christ, then she is also likewise to submit herself to the decisions made by her husband IF HE IS UNDER CHRIST as well. If he is NOT then that's where the problem(s) begin and both parties should immediately get their souls in order because NOTHING will work for good if they can't get that position under control.  Jesus saved the man, Jesus saved the woman.  Jesus is the Head of the Church and the man is the head of the family. The wife is to submit her well being, finances, final decisions, and even her body to her husband because he is commanded to love her as Christ loved the Church, even so much as to be willing to lay down his life for her. If he's not doing that - - then he's the one who will suffer for it, and she (the wife) is free of any judgment from God if she has been submissive and willing to follow, pray for, and support her husband in his journey to be more Christ-like.

This belief is not my opinion. This is not even an option for wives, it is a command. It is a qualified and quantified directive from God; it is not up for debate and even though my friends think I'm a nut case for saying so, I will (if I am ever married) follow this command if called upon to do so. I don't have any plans to get married (hell, I don't have plans to date) so it may never happen, but if it did you can bet your last hard-earned dollar that I will ONLY marry a man who is so grounded in Christ that I will never have to worry or question if he has my very best interest at heart. NOPE...it is probably never going to happen, but if it does, if God decides to make me a wife He will certainly have to provide the one and only best husband out there because I could not make this promise to two people, ONLY ONE.

Why is it so important that we do what we're told to do?  There is a plan, and the plan is simple. Do what God commands and all things will work together for good. Seek the Kingdom, all else falls into place. Delight in God, commit to Him and His ways, and He will provide. I can't make that any more clear. You, wives, do as you're told, and you, husbands,  do as you're told, and guess what, I can all but guarantee you that the divorce rates will plummet! Did that sound really old-fashioned, conservative, churchy, and even backwards to you? Well, my grandpa said it best when he told me that there are two ways to approach God's word; you can say yes or you can say no, but God's Word only has one way to approach you.  He's not wrong.  Do as you are told! 

Be blessed.