Submission
This is one of the most challenging areas of spiritual discipline to discuss because it goes against the grain of our culture's values. Submission is not considered a virtue in western culture. As well, even within the Christian context, nearly everyone has some negative baggage associated with submission.
- Some feel that they have tried submission and “it didn’t work.”
- Some feel that submission is a cultural artifact from the past that has no place in contemporary society.
- Some feel that they have the right to demand submission from certain others in their lives.
- Most of us will have had at least some negative experience with some form of abuse legitimized as someone's right to our “submission.”
- Nearly everyone focusses on the energy flow from the “submitter” to the “submittee” and entirely misses the flow in the other direction.
While submission is not valued and not discussed much in the broader culture, it is valued and does show up as a relatively common theme in the Bible. But the biblical concept of submission is more about the appropriate attitude than about hierarchy. It emphasizes submission's voluntary nature over coerced subjugation and teaches mutuality among Christians, calling us to value, respect, and honour our fellow believers. Biblical submission will always make us more like Jesus.
Simply put, submission is the surrender of power or authority to another. It involves voluntarily deferring to someone else’s will, opinion, judgment or desire. Because the concept is counter cultural, it's important to establish the biblical background, especially noting that ALL Christians are called to submit to others. Specifically, we are to submit to:
- God "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double–minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." [James 4:7-10 ESV]
- Civil Authority "Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people." [1Peter 2:13-15 ESV]
- Eclesiastical Authority "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you." [Hebrews 13:17 ESV]
- Each other "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." [Ephesians 5:21 NIV]
"Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for 'God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.'" [1 Peter 5:5 NKJV]
"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." [Philippians 2:3-4]
Beside the obvious motivation of wanting to obey God's prescription for our behaviour, there are some practical benefits that come with biblical submission:
- we learn to surrender control
- we free ourselves from self-exaltation
- we learn to recognize legitimate authority and how to function under it
- we learn to receive criticism (legitimate and illegitimate)
- we learn to be accountable
- we develop a soft heart and a teachable spirit and so are able to receive spiritual guidance and wisdom
- we accept that we are ultimately under Christ
While the list of benefits is worthy of serious consideration, we also do well to look at a few potential pitfalls. These are only a problem when we adopt a distorted view of submission, but in our zeal that can happen. We need to be careful to avoid letting someone else take the place of God in our life. We do need to submit to others, but we must never give them inappropriate control. Flowing from this is the possibility of losing our sense of identity and unique value. God makes us in specific ways for His purposes, not for us to be consumed or dominated by others. Finally, be sure you don't try to manipulate others through submission. We can easily fall into some form of psychological deal making thinking "If I submit to you, you owe me."
To get started practicing submission, invite trusted spiritual people to point out your spiritual weaknesses. This can be of great benefit especially if you invite them to hold you accountable. Then, monitor your reactions when anyone points out flaws, faults, weaknesses, or sin. If you can embrace their input, you’re on the right track. If you get defensive, you have some spiritual work ahead.
Those who practice the spiritual discipline of submission effectively often find themselves moving into places of spiritual leadership. If you look at the men and women God used as leaders, you'll find that most of them learned to be followers first.
Ron Hughes
© August 2008
