Mayah

i.Submission is difficult for us humans, because we have an ingrained urge to rule ourselves, as witnessed with the fall of sin. It was the serpent's promise "you will be like God" (Gen 3:5) that ultimately led to the separation between humans and God. Humans do simply not want to be submissive to anyone but themselves, even God. ii. The Bible does not prohibit you from voicing your own opinions, but this should be done in a gentle and quiet manner. However, if your husband listens to your views and still does not prefer your preferred way, then you should voluntary obey (given that he follows God's word). iii. Submission is wrong when Christians are required to submit to ways that are ungodly. The Bible states on several occasions that the ultimate submission should be to the Lord. Thus, if your husband ask of you to do something that is not coherent with the Bible, it is your duty to disobey and follow God's word. Mary, the mother of Jesus, became pregnant by someone other than her husband-to-be. Although this was a highly punishable act, Mary replied to the angel that brought the message that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit: "I am the Lord's servant...May it be to me as you have said" (Luke 1:38). In other words, she recognized that her ultimate submission was not to Joseph, but the Lord. However, I have a question. When Peter speaks about wives' submission to husbands it is with the background that Christians were seen as disturbers of the old order, granting more rights and dignity to women than what was the custom. He thus requested wives to submit to their 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" (1 Peter 3:1). In other words, the wives should behave submissively to not hinder the spread of Christianity. People could oppose Christianity based on the rebellious wives it led to. However, today the secular norm in Western societies is that women should not be submissive. I know personally people that oppose Christianity, because of the submission it requires of women. Does this not mean that by insisting on submission to husbands we are today driving people away from Christianity? And thus by following this advice, we are doing the exact opposite of what Peter intended? Just a thought...