This chapter was again dealing with submission. I'm getting that it is a vital part of being an "excellent wife"! The author listed out 20 motivators to being submissive, since it does not come naturally to most wives. Thankfully, Leslie listed them out if you want to see the full list.
Mind-over-matter, speak-to-yourself things really make sense to me and help me in many areas of life. "Regardless of her feelings, she should honor Christ by developing a mind-set or a resolve to do the right thing in the right way with the right motive whether she feels like it or not. In the process, her feelings will eventually change."
It is vital that we change our thinking from "What can I get out of this? to How can the Lord Jesus Christ be honored in this?" That gets the focus off of me, me, me. The "me" world gets old quickly and at some point you have to realize "its not about me"! Its such a liberating concept to grasp.
"Thus says the Lord, 'Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,' declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23,24
If you just skimmed over that verse, go back and read it again. Wow! I don't remember reading this verse before, or maybe it just finally speaks to me now. I want to know Him. I want to understand the God who is loving, just and righteous.
I know it to be true in my own life, the more I spend time with God, reading His word and talking to him, studying His character, the less I am concerned with watching out for myself and making sure everyone is taking care of Lisa. Regrettably, it only takes missing two or three days of my set-aside time with God before my selfish heart takes over.
So to me, the Study the Character of God point is first and all others flow out from doing this.
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteWow, you have a great blog here! I enjoyed looking at your family photos and vacation pictures.
I also liked what you wrote in this post. Just today my daughter (10) was telling me of a girl who was boasting about her abilities so we talked about how important it is to only boast of God and His power. These are hard lessons but necessary ones if we are to walk the Christian walk! And if we begin to prepare our daughters while they are young, then perhaps they will understand what it is to be a Christian wife. Thanks for the reminder and scripture today....
Kelley