His Desire to Lead

My husband and I were trying to apply a Biblical view of submission in a situation that we had faced.  We were having difficulty seeing eye-to-eye with the correct way to apply it.  So what did my husband do?  He researched it, so that he could lead me in how to be submissive.

I know that submission is a touchy subject in our society, but I cannot, in good conscience, ignore something that the Bible commands.  The touchiness is not helped by society’s view of what submission is.  For instance, it is not being a doormat, as the analogy often goes.  For more on submission, you can see an earlier post of mine:  Weekly Impressions - Submission.

In any case, I was thankful for my husband’s desire to lead.  It is very refreshing to see him not just try to tell me to do something, but to try to actually lead me in it.  To research what it would look like to do what he tells me to do, and to help me see how it works.  To discuss it with me in a loving way until I understand what he means.  It makes an incredible difference in a wife’s life for her husband to lead like a shepherd rather than a dictator.  Both the husband and the wife will be more successful in their endeavors when the husband chooses to lead like a shepherd.  

A dictator’s command makes it much more difficult for the follower not only to have a good attitude in following, but to be able to follow in unity, as the follower can only guess at what the dictator’s goal is.  It is, however, still the follower’s responsibility to portray a Christ-like attitude should the leader dictate rather than shepherd.  Christ has given us the ability to overcome our sin, and we are responsible to do so through His power.  Not that it’s easy.

I am thankful for the Lord’s good work in our marriage.  Tonight, I am especially thankful for my husband’s desire to lead me in an understanding way.  We stand better united, and better able to portray and carry out God’s love and glory for it.