How Practical is it for Women to be Submissive to Their Husbands in Modern Society

[Vico]

Vico:

Christianity is all about being Christ-like, a martyr, not worldly: our reward is in heaven.

And yet, paradoxically, a person who is a martyr to their family may not actually be doing a good job as a parent or spouse.

Sometimes the family is secondary, depending upon the situation.

Matthew 19

29 And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting.

 

[Rau]

if he’s paying for it, at the end of the day he gets more of the say.

What an odd perspective to take. Very “contractual”, not so marital. It means the extent of one’s “say” about all things that cost money is a function of who earns the most money!

 

[Bruised_Reed]

And thereby devaluing everything a SAHP does.

 

[JamalChristophr]

………

The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
-Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, v. 10

 

[JamalChristophr]

For this transgression of opening the box that was forbidden to open, Margaret, hither you shall go for the span of forever and a day until the box be open once again by some ill-fated soul.

 

[Bruised_Reed]

::sing-song:: Pandora…Pandora…Pandora…

 

[AdamP88]

Because husband has taken on the huge responsibility of providing for 8 people or whatever, and maybe he can’t afford a minivan with sliding doors. I would hope he discusses it with his wife and they mutually agree on something they both like, but if he’s paying for it, at the end of the day he gets more of the say.

I really don’t think that’s a healthy way to view it. Maybe that works for you because you’re happy with that. But really it seems much better to regard money as being the resource of both spouses. If my wife wants a car for herself it doesn’t seem productive for me to have most of the say. I think my wife would listen to me as I have more expertise when it comes to cars. But if she wanted/needed a Minivan for school runs, it wouldn’t be fair for me to insist on a Toyota Yaris.
Even if she wanted something like an expensive perfume then I think she should be free to buy that. Obviously this is assuming that she has an awareness of the financial situation and isn’t spending excessively.

 

[babochka]

I really don’t think that’s a healthy way to view it. Maybe that works for you because you’re happy with that. But really it seems much better to regard money as being the resource of both spouses.

This exactly. If my husband and I had this attitude about money, I don’t believe we could have a happy marriage. I’d always feel like I needed to ask for his permission to spend his money. This would lead to some serious resentment on my part. We have a family pot of money and family expenses, whether I do the spending or he does. It encourages good communication and helps tp ensure that we’re on the same page. We would have the same approach even if I were employed.

 

[vincentleo]

I do not believe it is correct to say that “mutual submission” is an equivalent rendering of Eph. 5:21. It is important that the text of Eph. 5:21 does not use the term “mutual,” but it says “be subject to one another”.

If we are speaking to a body of people, such as the community in Ephesus which St. Paul’s letter was addressed to, the phrase “to one another” implies that some people in this group are to behave in a certain way towards other people within the group. However, the term “mutual” has a much stronger connotation of what two or more people do to each other.

I am convinced that the difference between these two phrases is of vast importance, as the disagreements in this thread demonstrate. This is why I say that the teaching of mutual submission needs to be clarified.