Oct 5. 1 Peter 3. Tana McDowell

Submissive and in Harmony

“Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands, so that if any of them do not believe the word they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.”

WHEW!  As a woman who grew up in the 70’s it was REALLY hard to get past that “S” word before I was a follower of Christ and, if I’m being totally honest, for a good while after as well. The word submissive really stopped me in my tracks and I totally missed the beauty of the rest of this passage! It took some time and deep conversations with godly women to help me see that this was not a matter of me being subjugated but rather a matter of me trusting in God and being a suitable helper (ezer) for my husband.  As a suitable helper to my husband I give my input and work with my husband to help our marriage reflect God’s glory. I submit to the authority that God has given his position in our marriage. That does not make my role less, it makes it different. What good is a baseball team with two pitchers and no catcher? It just won’t work. What about two catchers and no pitcher? Both are needed. Both are important and rely on one another.

The first part of the chapter folds right into the second part. “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble”.

This is how we are to live with one another as the body of Christ (and definitely in our marriages) to live like this in harmony with one another and with those around us, even (especially) when we are being wronged shows the world who Jesus is!  It allows us to share with others who do not know Jesus why we live and react to hardships as we do.  We have the opportunity to share the hope we have in Christ.