Intelligent Submission, Part 2

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:38-42 NIV).

Who hasn't heard the story about Martha and Mary, and learned a lesson about what is important in life, i.e., hanging out with Jesus instead of the dishes. But why is it that when women become very efficient Marys and hang out with Jesus, they are told their place is in the kitchen? That they should be worried and upset about the many things that go on in the kitchen, for that is what they were created to be and do.

Doesn't it seem that there is one Jesus to men, and another to women? The "other" Jesus tells women that it is ok to be like Mary, but only as long as they do not become wise beyond measure, and they don't offend men. If they actually take discipleship seriously and become masters able to disciple others, the "other" Jesus tells them to remain silent and submissive, for they have no business teaching others.

But is that really so? Does submission require that we gain all the knowledge in the world, only to remain silent? Do we not learn in order to become wise? What in wisdom requires that we remain silent as other people make foolish decisions that affect not only themselves, but also others?


From Intelligent Submission & Other Ways of Feminine Wisdom

Submission requires a lot of wisdom. We must think before we submit or we might find ourselves agreeing with things we otherwise wouldn't, and avoiding the things we know we shouldn't. In other words, submission must be intelligent. A godly wife is worth more than a diamond, but so is wisdom, which explains why the two have a lot in common. Abigail was not only beautiful, she was also intelligent. Her misfortune was to be married to Nabal, a fool, as his name so clearly indicates. When Nabal was about to let all the men in his household be murdered due to his own foolishness, Abigail rushed off to meet David with the requested provisions. David praised her for her good judgment which prevented the slaughter of innocents. Likewise Mary, the mother of Jesus, stood before the angel and gave her own consent to becoming the mother of God. Jael is perhaps a bit more on the morbid side as far as examples go, for she hammered a tent peg through the temple of Sisera, the enemy of Israel. Nevertheless, she was praised by Deborah and Barak for her courage to act alone. Moses would not have had an Israel to lead out of Egypt if the Israeli midwives had not feared God more than they feared Pharaoh. And had his sister Miriam not been brave enough to speak to the bathing Pharaoh's daughter, Moses himself would have grown up believing himself an Egyptian. Rahab saved the Israeli spies in Jericho, the Samaritan woman preached the Gospel fearlessly to her whole town, women were first to see the empty tomb, Mary of Magdalene was first to speak to the resurrected Christ, and Lydia was first to welcome Christianity to continental Europe. Women have done extraordinary things for God without stopping first to ask for permission from men.

Submission that stands silently by as others are harmed is not submission; it is foolishness. Intelligent submission recognizes that there are times when we must stand up and resist those who hurt themselves and others, and there are times when we must willingly give in, and submit to those who create peace.

Foolish submission doesn't recognize the difference, for "[t]he way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice" (Prov 12:5 NIV).