by I AM – AM –

Recently, my wise friend called me to express concern over difficulties in his marriage. He told me that she wanted to “move on.” So, I asked him why was he so distraught if the answers to his problems were easy to find—but more importantly, unquestionable. He asked where he could find such clear-cut answers. I told him, The Bible, of course.

You see, my friend and his wife are devout Christians. I asked my friend: “Don’t you read the Bible? Don’t you believe that the answers to all your questions are contained in the Bible?” He replied, “Of course we follow the teachings of the Good Book. And of course we believe the answers to our questions are there.”

So, I told him, your first clue to a happy marriage can be found within the very first few pages of the Bible, Genesis 3:16: “Unto the woman [God] said,…and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

My friend said, “Yeah, but that’s the Old Testament you know. We really follow the New Testament. And that is a little chauvinistic.” I told him, “No problem buddy. We have a lot of guidance in the New Testament that will solve your problem. For example, 1 Corinthians 11:3 tells us: “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.”

My friend was still skeptical (incredibly). I told him, well let’s read 1 Corinthians 14:34-36 which commands: “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.”

By now, my friend, to my surprise, was even more skeptical. I told him, wait, there’s more, and in rapid-fire succession, I clued him in to the following enlightening teachings: Ephesians 5:22-24 instructs: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, …so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.” And, Colossians 3:18 “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.” 1 Timothy 2:11-15 “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” 1 Peter 3:1 “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands.”

By now my friend was in total disbelief. He asked, “What about women’s rights? What about equality? How can you ask me to treat my wife as you tell me above?” To which I replied, “My friend, that’s the beauty of it, I’m not asking you to treat your wife like that, God commands you to. And who the hell are you to argue with what God wants?”

I AM

“The worst enemy women have is in the pulpit.” Susan B. Anthony

© 2010, I AM – AM. All rights reserved.

Tweet This Post