I’ll be honest: sometimes I stink at submission.
(I’d like to write that I think sometimes we all stink at submission, but I’ll hold off on that comment for now…)
Submission means to willingly yield to the authority or judgment of another person. Perhaps part of the reason we — I mean “I” — sometimes stink at submission is because through various stages of life, I have misunderstood the concept.
I’ve gone through stages where I’ve equated submission with weakness… with something lesser… something oppressive… something bad or beaten down. Who among us wishes to actually embrace something bad or beaten down?
I’ve also seen persons who have misused their authority or judgment… like in The Bride, an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, when Baron Charles Frankenstein, commands his mate, “You must trust me, and you must obey me!” — and follows order number one with the added imperative not to provoke him either.
It is also true that too many have abused their authority or judgment… like an abusive husband or an oppressive slave master… like an elect who leads most by executive order.
We — I mean “I” — don’t always agree with the judgment of another. And instead of recognizing that submission has value — as we are sharpened by the insight and consideration of a worthy, experienced other — I allow my opinion and desire to trump all others.
Submission makes us listen. Submission keeps us humble. Submission holds us accountable. Submission reminds us that no, we don’t have life all figured out. My sense is that all people should be in some submission to at least someone else — most likely far more than one.
I speak not of blindly following the foolish, friends. I am more encouraging the give-and-take, healthy practice of asking another what they think… inviting their wisdom… welcoming their judgment… learning how to both follow and lead. The act of submission is the acknowledgement that none of us are the wisest persons we know.
And yet, we witness a society where we continually justify why not to submit; we constantly find a reason or flaw that keeps us from welcoming the authority found in…
… a teacher… coach… ump… referee… or the elderly…
… a principal… parent… policeman… priest… or president…
… or perhaps… we find a flaw in the God of the universe, who I have zero doubt is far holier than you or I will ever be.
Friends, I am concerned that in our efforts to not fall prey to those who have abused their authority and judgment, we have either consciously or subconsciously declared that we will no longer submit to a divine way of order. It’s as if our thinking is now greater than God’s thinking… our desires are more important than any desires he may have for us… our determination of what’s good and true and right is what’s right… and we declare our wants and wishes to be wisest and best because we are unwilling to submit to anyone other than self.
There. I said it… “we.”
Sometimes we stink at submission. We’re not always aware of the value the lost practice actually holds.
Respectfully…
AR