Page 60 - Family Life Student Textbook

Hebrews 12:9 “Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us, and we
respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and
live!”

1 Peter 5:5 “In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of
you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the
proud but shows favor to the humble.”

A child can be obedient, but not submit. The story is told of a child who disobeyed his mother. After
repeated attempts to get him to obey, she told him he would have to sit down on a chair in the corner of the
room. In rebellion, he refused. But, because of her superior size and strength, the mother forced the child to
sit down on the chair. The child then told the mother, “Well, on the outside I am sitting down, but on the
inside, I'm standing up!” Some wives might submit in an outward way, but inwardly they're rebelling in
attitude.

Communicate respect and admiration for your husband.

Ephesians 5:33 “However, each one of you also must love his wife as he
loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

“Respect” here means reverence. She notices him, regards and prefers him and
esteem’s him A wife should never criticize her husband in public or tear him down
in private. Always compliment him in public and build up in private. Your husband
must feel your respect. Remember that in Titus 2:3-5 the Greek word for love
means the friendly kind of love that likes her husband.

Your husband needs your unconditional respect like he needs oxygen to breathe.
Just as the wife needs unconditional love from her husband like oxygen to breathe,
every husband needs respect from his wife to live. Man have very fragile egos. And
they feel disrespected by the lack of acceptance by their wife. God has designed
the role of the wife to give him that respect he so desperately needs.

In addition to respecting the authority of her husband, the wife needs to obey that authority God has placed
over her.

Luke 10:17 “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to
us in your name.”

Titus 2:9 “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them,
not to talk back to them.”

1 Peter 3:1 “Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own 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.”

Let us now look at some practical principles involved in submission.

As a helper, the wife should voluntarily submit to her husband by respectfully bringing all areas of her life
under his headship.
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