Feminism has it all wrong. They think if they can become more like men and equal in every way, then they will be strong. Gabrielle Reece has it all right. Reece, who was OF COURSE introduced as a “mother, model and former pro beach volleyball star” in that order, explains in the book, “to truly be feminine means being soft, receptive and – look out, here it comes – submissive.”
She goes on to say, “I think the idea of living with a partner is ‘How can I make their life better?’ So if I’m the woman and he’s the man, then yes, that’s the dynamic. I’m willing, and I choose to serve my family and my husband because it creates a dynamic where he is then, in fact, acting more like a man and masculine and treating me the way I want to be treated … I think because women have the ability to set the tone, that the ultimate strength and showing real power, I believe, is creating that environment. I don’t think it’s a sign of weakness. I think it’s a sign of strength.”
Hello...God's ways work. Whenever I write about submission, many people tell me how wrong I am to teach it. See the ways of God are foreign to those who chose to not believe in Him. Right is wrong and wrong is right. However, there are a lot of unbelievers who choose to live by God's standards because they realize they are the right way to live. His ways work.
It comes down to being unselfish; loving others, especially your husband, more than yourself. How can he not start loving and adoring you if you make it your mission in life to make him happy??? We do reap what we sow. It may take time, but he will eventually respond to being loved in such a way.
Continue loving, serving, and being submissive to your husband. When you do things God's ways, you reap His blessings. If you continue to do things the world's ways, you will reap the world's blessing. God's blessings are far beyond anything you can even hope or imagine. Oh, how I love your ways, precious Jesus.
I am not sure if Gabrielle and her husband are believers or not but her husband is one blessed man!
As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried:
he
is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
Psalm 18:30
Logging you in...
Jenifer · 623 weeks ago
Tiffany · 623 weeks ago
PJB · 623 weeks ago
On the other hand, I definitely quibble at how you characterized femininity by such a narrow idea, which isn't really mentioned in the Bible at all... sometimes I worry about our brave and steadfast determined girls, when they encounter the worldly idea that such characteristcs are not OK for their gender. We need those kind of strong women, and I don't think it's 'unfeminine' to be bold, courageous or tenaciously faithful. Soft and yielding aren't everything for every woman. Praise God for His creative variety in all of us.
Cathy B*****y · 623 weeks ago
amy · 623 weeks ago
PJB · 623 weeks ago
The meaning of helper/helpmeet before the fall emphasized the need of a man, and the role of the woman to be "the one who is needed" -- the one without whose strength and contribution to their joint calling in the garden of the world, the man could not accomplish well alone. What 'he' lacks, 'she' contributes, and together the partnership is enough for the job.
After the fall, is when it became clear that putting our spouses ahead of ourselves is hard... often too hard to be successful at without the strength of Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit. The meaning of the curse is that when spouses seek to put themselves first, when spouses both want to be the one who is above the other one, the one who rules... that men, by virtue of their physical and psychological distinctions are most often successful at becoming that 'ruler'.
In which case, both spouses cease to be submissive (meaning: her will would be to put him first, above herself *and* his will would be to put her first, above himself) and the wife becomes subordinate (his will is to grasp and manifest authority over her, and she yields to his power to do so). We see that up to the point of the New Testament the curse was indeed true, and women were not often genuinely submissive, but more often simply subordinate -- ruled over.
In the New Testament we see believers in Christ instructed to return to the attitude by which both spouses seek to put the other first, honoring one another above ourselves, and seeking to strive for any kind of rulership.
Ken · 623 weeks ago
There is so very little to go on try and understand what God intends by "He will rule over you."Certainly as PJB points out, when selfishness enters the world the man by default becomes ruler because he is stronger than his mate, and without his care and consideration for her, he can rule over her by force, but many women are smart enough enough to rule over their husbands.by manipulative, should they choose to do so.
I think to see or teach submission as a part of the curse for the fall is incorrect. Submission is a beautiful demonstration of exactly what Christ has done with His Father, and what we are to do with Christ. We voluntarily submit our will to His will because we love Him and we want the to please Him.
Jesus does reset the fall, and we are no longer under the curse f the fall, but completely free in Christ. Free to choose not to be selfish. Free to empty our lives into others as a demonstration of Christ's love living and and through us. For the Christian husband this servant living demands he step up and lead, especially in spiritual things, and for the wife, it requires loving submission that models the perfect unity of the Godhead, God three in one, all equal, yet each with certain authority and roles.
Perhaps the fall created man dominated leadership by force, but in Christ we lead now in love and or godly wives voluntarily submit to help achieve unity of purpose, peace and joy within the marriage. The absence of selfishness... selfless living and considering others as more important than I am.
PJB · 623 weeks ago
It's only subordination (which comes from the other person's impulse to rule others) that comes from the fall. Fallen people (of both genders) thrive on being the 'top' in their relationships. Restoration flows in the impulse to be the least and the servant, wherever we find ourselves.
Personal restoration in Christ leads us to elevate others above ourselves by service and humility (submission). Restoration in marriages leads to the harmony and beauty of a deeply other-focused, uplifting, accommodating (submissive) love relationship being expressed intimately and in community.
(However, there not in the Bible any such demand that all married male persons are required to act as leaders, nor is there a prohibition that female persons shall not become leaders. Only mature Christians make good leaders, and mature Christians are submissive in heart. Leadership is not an attribute of gender.)
Ken · 623 weeks ago
"The husband IS head of the wife" (Eph. 5:23 & 1 Cor. 11:3) and wives are to submit to (Col 3:18 & Eph 5:22) ) and be subject to or "obey" (I Peter 3:1) their husbands.
One renders much of what Paul teaches on the subject of marriage and order in the church and family unintelligible if the husband is not specifically assumed to be the leader of his family. Leadership can take many forms, but God places the responsibility for a well managed home upon the husband, and it is a requirement for all deacons and elders... positions which Paul says Christian men should aspire to.
There is a massive amount of evidence from both the OT and NT that the husband is the leader and that he is considered by God responsible to lead his family. Husband leadership is clearly taught in the scriptures as God's ideal for a marriage.
PJB · 623 weeks ago
It's just that the rest of what you have written about "leadership" is human interpretation of an unclear metaphor in another language from over 2000 years ago.
Your freedom to interpret belongs to you, in faith and love, my friend and brother -- but you do not get to say "The Bible says..." about the answers you arrive at. You get to say, "I think the Bible is here indicating..." or, "Based on this metaphor and the rest of my reading, I'm assuming..."
If the Bible says, "leader" I expect to see "leader"; if the Bible says "responsible" I expect to see the word "responsible" or perhaps "accountable"; and where the Bible says "obey" -- I expect it to use the Greek word for obey, not the Greek word for submit.
If those words were really in there, your point would be as solid as you think it is. But it's not. It's a carefully thought our intelligent personal opinion regarding the Bible, but the ideas themselves are not IN the Bible. It is the gift of the mind that allows us to think our own thoughts and offer wisdom using our own words -- but it is critical, in humility, to state clearly when we begin to "go beyond what is written".
amotherscalling 25p · 623 weeks ago