Colossians 3:20 "Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord."

Ephesians 6:5 " Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;"

Romans 13:1 “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.”

Ephesians 5:22 "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord."

James 4:7 " Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

I was thinking about leadership and submission this morning, specifically as it relates to the husband/wife relationship.  “Submission,” in today’s culture, immediately sounds oppressive, aggressive, chauvinistic, and wrong.  But Biblical submission is not about ruthless and dictatorial headship.  It is about leadership.  For any relationship to succeed, there must be proper and organized leadership.  Whether that’s parental, societal, economical, marital, or theological.  There must be a driving and leading force that determines the “path” to take and the decisions to make.  Otherwise there is constant resistance, stress, and in-fighting.  I think we can glean a little insight on proper leadership and proper submission from looking at a few examples.  It’s also important to note that I think this mainly refers to spiritual leadership, not physical.  Proper spiritual leadership and submission will natural cause the physical to follow suit.  This isn’t a “OBEY ME OR ELSE,” type thing, this is a proper spiritual direction and guidance thing.

In regards to children, the one aspect I want to examine is morals and ethics.  It is the parents job to “lead” in morals and ethics, and the child's job to submit to that.  Submission includes (and may be even defined as) trust.  You are placing your trust in an individual to guide you when you submit.  Like sitting passenger in a car.  You’ve committed the leadership to the driver, and you submit to their direction.  Anyways, back to children, it is the parents job to “lead” by teaching right from wrong.  You tell your child what they can and cannot do.  And they are supposed to submit to that and accept it.  Think about how upsetting it is when a child questions “why.”  It is a form of rebellion against your leadership.  They are essentially saying, “I don’t trust you.”  But the proper parent/child relationship has the parent as the moral leader and the child as the trusting submissive responsive party.

Now lets look at work, and specifically in regards to “task.”  It is the employee’s position to submit to the employer as it relates to duty and task.  The employer leads by setting an agenda, a plan, a schedule, etc.  The employee “trusts” the vision of the employer and does the task before them.  When done in proper order, tasks are completed.  But when an employee doesn’t submit to the leadership of the employer, it causes disruptions in the work flow.  That lack of trust the employee shows by saying, “I’ll do it my way,” skews the vision of the employer/leader.

In government, the submission is in rule.  Essentially a combination of the child/employee submission variables we’ve already looked at.  The governed submits and trusts the governing body to lead towards a vision and to set guidelines by which that vision is accomplished.  Proper submission leads to peaceable life, but mistrust and rebellion causes anarchy and chaos.

In the husband/wife role, I am specifically thinking about Biblical doctrine, teaching, and understanding.  Why?  Because the Bible says that the woman is not to “teach” or “usurp” authority over the man.  This usurping is specifically referenced in the sphere of Biblical teaching and doctrine.  It is in the matters of Scripture that the husband is to lead and guide and shepherd.  And as the “submissive party,” the wife is to trust her husband with his understanding and guidance in the Scriptures.  She is to allow him to “rule” in matters of faith and study.  

Of course there is the possibility of the husband falling into heresy, in which case the wife is to lovingly seek the Lord in prayer for her husbands repentance and to look for opportunities to gentle point out the errors.  But she must remain under the headship of her husbands spiritual leadership.  In the proper form, this leads to a beautiful cohesive walk in the faith.  But if the submissive party determines to “lead” and “teach,” it will cause unrest and chaos in the home.  This is very visible in the church were spiritually lazy men are under the headship of their more spiritually mature wives!  It ought not be so!  Even if the wife is further advanced in spiritual maturity and knowledge, it is her duty to submit to the husbands rule.  And it is the husbands duty to LEAD and study to show himself approved.  BOTH, an unwillingness to submit AND an unwillingness to lead are tremendously damaging to the church body.

Finally is our submission to God, which encompasses all of these different variables.  Like a Father, He determines our morality and ethics.  Like an employer, He determines our goals and positions.  Like a governor, He determines our destiny and the rule of law.  Like a husband, He decides our truth and doctrine.  He is over all in all areas and we are to submit to Him.  To rebel is treasonous, and is described in Samuel as being like the sin of witchcraft (trying to manipulate circumstances to set our own destinies).

So in summarization, children obey your parents, and parents rule well!  Employers, do as your told at work and work diligently.  Employees be fair and kind.  Those who are governed, submit and live in peace.  Governors, be JUST and righteous.  Wives, allow your husbands to lead in matters of faith.  Husbands STUDY and walk worthy of the vocation you have been called into!  And above all, submit to God in all things.