Submission is a troublesome word, isn’t it? There are few other words that provoke as much consternation in our culture today. For Americans who pride themselves in self-determination and independence, submitting to the will of another doesn’t exactly come naturally. While submission to supervisors may be temporarily tolerated because we want to get paid, we often take the first opportunity to escape such authority. Advertisers seek to exploit this fact. I couldn’t even count how many “home based businesses” I have heard marketed with the tagline “Be your own boss!” This cultural aversion to authority exists just as strongly within the Church as it does outside the Church today. None of us want to submit to someone else.

Most of the discussion in the church about submission has focused on Paul’s command for wives to submit to their husbands in Ephesians 5:22. While it is certainly important for us to correctly comprehend and apply this passage, I fear that our overall understanding of submission has been somehow distorted by our inordinate focus on this one context. Wives are by no means the only people called to submission in Scripture, and men are certainly not exempted.

There are numerous places in Scripture where followers of God are commanded to submit. For example, in James 4:7 we are told to submit ourselves to God. The command to submit to governing authority occurs in 1 Peter 2:13 and in Romans 13:1-2. The apostle Peter also encourages submission to those who are older in 1 Peter 5:5. Paul calls all believers to submit to each other in Ephesians 5:21. The author of Hebrews also orders submission to church leaders in 13:17. Submission may not look the same in each of these situations, and a call for general submission does not cancel out a command for specific submission. The issue of submission transcends the gender debate, however, and we do an injustice to fellow believers when we only talk about submission in marriage.

These passages and others make it clear that submission is a key part of God’s plan for every believer today. Most of us don’t like that fact. Our American desire for independence runs deep within us. After all, our nation was founded through rebellion against a foreign power. Postmodernism also brought with it, a strong distrust of those in authority.  It is culturally understandable that we do not get excited about submission, but whenever our cultural instincts outweigh our spiritual obligations, something is wrong. The thread of submission has been divinely woven into the fabric of the Christian life, and those who attempt to remove it do more damage than they realize.

Submission, when correctly applied, is an essentially Christian value. Salvation itself depends on our submission to Christ as our Savior and Lord. One cannot become a Christian without first admitting guilt and submitting to God for salvation. As followers of Christ grow to love Him more deeply, they will see greater and greater portions of their life come under His authority. When we personally experience this, we will realize that some of God’s greatest blessings come through submission.

How, you may ask, is this issue of submission playing out in my life right now? There are two specific situations that come to mind. Firstly, each intern is required to submit to the guidelines of the Future Leader program. Among other things, we must read assigned books, turn in time consuming journals, avoid taking college classes, and resist dating anyone else in the program. While not all of these things may seem objectionable, I can say with certainly that each of us in the program have at times been frustrated by the structure placed on us by those in leadership.

I have personally experienced submission in the relationship I have with my manager. Since Pastor Edward is in authority over me, he has the ability to choose my work priorities. Even when I would rather be doing other things, it is my responsibility to submit to his requests. Pastor Edward is neither domineering nor unreasonable, but the truth remains that I don’t always want to do what he asks me to do. Specifically, I was not excited when he first asked me to create the bulletin and update the website each week. I was also not thrilled about leading the Connect Team when he asked me to take the reins. Even though I was internally resistant in these areas, my responsibility was to submit to his leadership, and I have continued to do so.

After being in my position for six months I still don’t get excited about some of the things I am required to do. I can say, however, that some of the biggest blessings I have experienced in DC have come through my submission to those in leadership over me. While submission to human leadership can be frustrating because those in leadership are sinful and broken, I am convinced that God uses these situations to cause growth in us that would not occur otherwise. This has certainly been the case in my life. Although I will always struggle with it, I am learning to find joy in submission.