Submission means having the willingness to voluntarily submit to Christ
and also to others in authority. It is a call to submit and a Discipline
because it takes our effort, even though we are not required to do so. When we
are submitting to others, we are also submitting and serving Christ as Lord
(Col. 3:23-24)! It is an aspect of the surrender of our lives to God so we are
in His will. However, it is one of the most difficult disciplines to practice.
We want to be independent and strong, and we don't want people to walk all over
us. An important part of developing the spiritual discipline is to balance when
to be open and humble with knowing when not to let people take advantage of us.
As Christians, we are accountable to God. We know that we should confess
our sins to Him and that He sees all that we do. Yet, we are also accountable
to others around us. We will be held accountable for our actions. Outsiders
look at us and our actions and develop an opinion on God based on what we do.
We need to be submissive to God's rule to be good examples to others and to
please Him.
Submission is not is a loss of our identity or personality; rather, we
are freed and enhanced to be better and more content with God and others.
Submission is not about hating ourselves; rather, it means to have a right
respect and relationship with God. However, when we are self-sufficient or
self-indulgent, we not only fail to see our need for redemption, but also fail
to see our need for growth in spiritual matters.
So when we talk about submitting ourselves to one another, here’s the
question we need to ask: Have we placed
the needs of others before our own? Have we placed the needs of our spouse
and/or our children before our own? Have we placed the needs of those who work
for us before our own? Have we placed the needs of those we work with in the
church and community before our own? Have we placed the needs of those who are
hungry and hurting in our world before our own? If we haven’t placed the needs
of others before our own, if we need to submit to God and one another, what is
it going to look like and what will it take for us to do this?
Saying we're going to be more submissive is fine, but putting it into
action is a whole other thing. Here are ways you can develop this spiritual
discipline:
1.
Hold
your tongue. Take a moment before you speak to actually listen and absorb what
others are telling you.
2.
Be
discerning. Don't confuse submission in a spiritual sense with allowing people
to take advantage of you. Before you do what others tell you, weigh it against
the Bible.
3.
Take
yourself less seriously. Yes, we all want it our way, but ask yourself if it's
the end of the world if you try someone else's idea.
4.
Look at
how you think. If you find yourself having difficulties with being submissive,
try looking at why. When do you get angry? When are you most resistant? Ask God
to see inside yourself more clearly.
5.
Take a
few hours to be fully submissive (yet also be discerning and reasonable) to
everyone around you. No matter what, put aside your needs or feelings for a few
hours
For many of us, submission is not an easy thing to think about because we
have seen it lead to abusive situations and pain, but in the context of God’s
love and grace – submission leads to freedom and life
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