Submission is integral to what God wants of a man.
“And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:38)
As a man my life is not my own to take wherever I want and do with it whatever I will. When Christ comes to me His words are short and deep, “follow me.” At the very core of being a Christian man is submission.
My job is not mine. “doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.” (Eph 4:28) “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Tim 5:8) My job is for the provision of others. It is not about my personal scaling of the corporate ladder to have a successful career for a career sake. It is to provide for my family and for others. That is Christ’s plan for my job. It does not matter whether it is growing a multimillion dollar company or fixing pipes. If it does the task Christ has for it my job is successful.
My family is not mine. My family is not here to fulfill my desires and wants. The husband has a central aim, “love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Eph 5:25) The Father has a clear command, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Eph 6:3). All this makes the point that the family does not belong to me. I am submitted to the goal God wants for them.
My body is not mine. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor 6:19-20) My body is not mine to do with what I want. My sexual drive is not mine to command or be command by. My body is submitted to the Lordship of Christ.
My plans are not mine. “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15) This life is not mine to determine what I want to do and where I want to live. I am not setting my face towards the peak of my goals and going there no matter what. My life is in submission.
Men have distinct roles to play in this world. But these distinct roles are framed in the context of submission. We don’t create them or determine how they are suppose to be preformed.
Some want to construct the perception that when one speaks of roles the man gets the position of self serving leadership where the woman is given the role of subservient submission. This is a false perception of what the bible wants.
God’s Word does not call jerks to lead. It calls submitted men to lead. Only when a man is submitted is he capable of leading well.
Every call to leadership and courage is call to submission. Not to the whims and personal desires of the man the call goes to. But to the Lord who gives the call to act in accordance with His Spirit and for His glory. To be a man means one is submitted to the Lord.
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January 30, 2013 at 5:29 pm
Rachel
Great truth here… even for the women. Thanks for sharing! (:
February 4, 2013 at 8:17 pm
Charlie
You are welcome Rachel!
Curious to what you found helpful in my post?
February 5, 2013 at 12:43 am
Rachel
Well, I guess I just looked at all you posted in the light of a woman.
The same as men, women’s lives are not their own to do as they will. Their jobs are not theirs, their families are not theirs, their bodies are not theirs, and their plans are not theirs. Just as men, women have to submit their all to Christ. It is helpful to remember that. Plus, when you think of the fact that both man and woman are to equally submit to Christ, it brings the woman’s role of submission to man into a more focused and beautiful light. Not one of subordination, we don’t submit to men because we are any less of a person but we submit to them just as they submit to Christ. And in submitting according to the Word of God, we encourage, as women, men to submit to what the Lord calls them to be; leaders, protectors, providers, etc.. Maybe abstract, very abstract…. but I found a good message for both men and women alike.
February 7, 2013 at 6:46 am
Charlie
Very postmodern of you indeed.
. haha
Yes, when you look at our roles through the lens of 1 Corinthians 11, where everything is under the lordship of Christ, it does put it in right perspective.