Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!iuvax!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: plb@violin.att.com (Peter L Berghold) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Husband as leader in marriage Message-ID: Date: 29 Aug 89 07:22:23 GMT Reply-To: plb@cbnewsi.ATT.COM (peter.l.berghold,hr,) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 51 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu [This is a contribution to the continuing discussion of the husband as leader in marriage. It references postings by Wayne Iba and Geoff Allen, which cite Eph 5:25-28 to show that leadership does not mean tyranny, and does take the wife's interests into account. --clh] Strange this thread has come up when it has... our pastor is in the process of teaching this very part of Ephesians! I think EPH 5:32 is the most important point to consider in this whole subject of the "submission of wives to their husbands". If the husband is doing his part then the wive's part in this SHOULD happen automatically. To the folks out there that object to the wording "submit", I feel that you do not understand how it is meant. It does not mean to give up your rights as a human being. It does not mean to become a slave or less of a person. Submission is more the recognition of someones authority in your life. If you are employed by someone, you "submit" to them by recognising (sp?) their authority as your employer. If you are self-employed, you "submit" to your customers, or I daresay you won't be in business very long! Include your wife in descisions? The Bible refers to husband and wife as _JOINT HEIRS_!! Husbands, you better be includeing your wives in descisions! Even the heads of major corporations know better than to operate in a vaccum where nobody else's opinions count in a descision! At least the ones who are going somewhere do... Each person has areas that they are better in than the next. Same is true in a marriage. The husband may not be good at finances, and the wife better at it than a CPA... so why shouldn't the wife be in charge of financial descisions in the household? Likewise some wives are DANGEROUS with the check book, so the husband should be in authority here. What I am getting at is that a marriage should be a balance. Wives and husbands are supposed to be partners. Marriage as ordained by God is not a dictatorship. Each member of the partnership have differing needs. A wife for instance tends to need to know that she is loved and appreciated by her husband for some- thing other than being a "baby factory" (to put it delicately) . Husbands tend to need to be respected and know that they are looked up to. Wives: if you don't respect your husbands, why did you marry him? If both partners WORK at providing the needs of each other, they won't need to be reminded of EPH 5:32. It will just happen. In Christ, Pete Peter L. Berghold, AT&T, HRSAG, UUCP: att!violin!plb