- Negative ideas about submission
- Positives
The various divisions of faiths which use The Old Testament Bible besides Christians; this is only a minor indication of the vast ideologies adopted from the Bible[1]. When it comes to the interpretation of scripture, there is much debate as to what should be considered the most accurate depiction of what is written; and at times people may intentionally manipulate scriptures to justify their deeds or to further their dark desires (Wuthnow, 1992).
The above scripture has been one of the most debated scriptures throughout history due to one simple reason “misinterpretation”. Dependent on the church denomination or person, this one scripture could be either oppressive or liberating. As it could be implying that the wife is either inferior to the man and that the man is infallible, therefore the wife ought to obey her husband regardless of his reasoning (Forest, 2014).
This false understanding of the scripture may cause many wives to resent [2]and reject scripture, characterizing it as a modern-day form of slavery that goes against the modern-day independent women mindset. This has also taken a dangerous turn where the hot-tempered husband finally has a biblical approval to control and dominate his wife as he pleases (White, 1998). This form of a submissive marriage [3] relationship is destructive for both the wife and the husband, for it gives the man the rod in which he has authority over another life to treat her as he wishes and needs not to fear consequence. It results in the wife feeling tormented, broken and seeing no point to life as she is forced to stay in such a marriage (GRADY, 2013).
When it comes to biblical submission, it is not about being a servant, but rather about humbling one’s self under the leadership of the husband while giving him his due respect. (McRae, Marks of a Christian Marriage, 2000) It is not about a wife obeying the husband, but rather the wife allowing the husband to lead both her and the family, while at the same time honoring the biblical hierarchy established by God. Not at all to say that the wife has no right to correct the husband, but how she addresses him should be with respect rather than challenging him. This is so that they will be able to work together as a unit rather than be at odds with each other as though they are competitors. According to scripture, when taken into context, biblical submission is not meant to be a noose tied around the wife to fulfill the desires of the husband. It is however meant to bring about order and biblical structure within the marriage.
The other important thing to note is that submission is to “your own husband” and not every man nor his family. Although many families would require this of the wife; which is then an incorrect usage of the scripture, as this type of submission is not about degrading the woman, but about establishing husband and wife roles. This is evident ion the fact that the husband is told that he ought to cleave unto his wife and leave his parents; therefore this shows that their relationship should take precedence in his life and that his family ought to respect that. Beyond that they are said to have become one flesh, meaning that the world and their families ought to view them as one person, this would thus mean that the respected they afford their son ought to be the same respect they give his wife. This once again expresses that scripture intended for submission to be a crown for the woman rather than a thorn.
[1] KJV stands for: The King James Version.
