In this oft-quoted passage, Paul compared the relationship between Christ and the church to that between a husband and wife: just as Christ has direct authority over the church, so does a husband have direct authority over his wife.
Paul says that wives should willingly put themselves under the authority of their husbands in every area of life. This does not mean that women are inferior to men in value or in importance to God's plan. On the contrary, as evidenced by Genesis 2, most men can never be truly complete without a woman. This also does not mean that a woman must obey her husband's every command as if he was God incarnate. It makes sense to interpret Paul's command in much the same way as his previous injunction to obey civil authorities: obey as long as obedience does not require you to sin. Obedience falls in line with God's purpose for creating Eve to assist Adam.
Husbands have a definite role to fulfill in marriage as well. A husband is to love his wife in the same manner that Christ loved the church. He taught the disciples and nurtured them in His ways, then He gave up his life in our place, so that we could join Him as a virgin bride--for the impure in sin could never be one with a holy God. Likewise, a husband should be a spiritual teacher and the high priest of his family. He should be willing to sacrifice nearly everything for the spiritual well-being of his wife and family. By doing so, he will also strengthen himself in spirit and in character.
See Mutual Submission in Marriage? Paul’s Real Meaning in Ephesians 5:22-33 and Mutual Submission in Marriage? Part two for a more thorough treatment of this passage.
Check It or Chuck It
If you’re only getting one side of a story that makes someone sound pretty bad, you have a few options:
Can’t decide? Let me help:
Lev 19:16 You shall not go as a slanderer among your people; you shall not stand against the blood of your neighbor. I am YHWH.
Deu 19:15-20 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before YHWH, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.
Pro 11:13 One going with slander is a revealer of secrets, but the faithful of spirit keeps the matter hidden.
Pro 20:19 A gossip is a revealer of secrets; so do not mix with him who flatters with his lips.
So you heard something bad about someone? Either check it or chuck it. If it doesn’t hurt you then it’s probably better just to chuck it.
- Swallow it, hook, line, and sinker.
- Check the facts, or at least get the other side of the story
- Chuck it and the baby too.
Can’t decide? Let me help:
Lev 19:16 You shall not go as a slanderer among your people; you shall not stand against the blood of your neighbor. I am YHWH.
Deu 19:15-20 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong; Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before YHWH, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.
Pro 11:13 One going with slander is a revealer of secrets, but the faithful of spirit keeps the matter hidden.
Pro 20:19 A gossip is a revealer of secrets; so do not mix with him who flatters with his lips.
So you heard something bad about someone? Either check it or chuck it. If it doesn’t hurt you then it’s probably better just to chuck it.
Roman Generals and German Mercenaries in Lebanon
This is just about the most bizarre bit of history repeating itself that I have ever read before eight o'clock in the morning:
An Italian coalition leader said Rome would be willing to lead the military peace mission in Lebanon should the United Nations ask it to, while Germany’s chancellor said Monday she is confident that Europe will contribute ground troops.Rome leading a military peace mission using German mercenaries? Pax Romana? If the AP had been around, they could just about have written this paragraph in 150 AD.
Real Love
Love is like a manager with three employees. The manager told the employees of a new company program that would bring more paperwork and more hassle of all kinds. The first employee said, "You know that this program won't accomplish its stated goals. It will only hurt productivity, and I refuse to be part of a program that will only cost you your job." Then he returned to his office and pushed all of the new paperwork into his garbage can. The second employee said, "This is such a great idea! I've been looking for an opportunity just like it. You can count on me." Then he returned to his office, stacked the new paperwork on the corner of his desk, and put it out of his mind. The third employee said, "This is such a load of crap! My job was hard enough already, and now you pile this on me too? I can't do this." Then he returned to his office and began working on the new paperwork.
Each of these men displayed an element of love. The first man showed some concern for his superior, and that's admirable. Unfortunately, he didn't really do anything helpful. In fact, his defiance cost the team the benefit of his knowledge and labor. Lost time and delayed projects probably made the manager look even worse. The second man showed a great attitude. He felt good about his manager and made his manager feel good too. At least for a little while. At least the first employee performed according to expectations. The second employee added lying to insubordination. The third employee didn't make anyone feel good. He complained and acted as if he wouldn't contribute to the new program at all. However, he was the only one of the three who actually attempted to do the work. At the end of the week, the third employee was the only one who kept his job. He was the only one who showed any meaningful love for his manager.
Good feelings and good words are great. Everyone loves to be in love, to feel warm and fuzzy and glowing. Those things are important, and all of the best marriages will have them. However, being "in love" is such a minor thing in the whole of real love. All the good feelings in the world don't help anyone except the one who has them. The object of your affections can't feel your affection. It won't keep them warm at night or dress their wounds, or encourage them when they're down. Love, to mean anything at all, must be expressed. Not just in words, because words, though still important, aren't much better than feelings. Love must be expressed through action. I can have all the affection in the world for you, but if I don't do anything for you, what good is it? Being in love without doing the things that love entails is the ultimate expression of selfishness. It denies the object of your affection any benefits, hogging them all to yourself.
The most important part of love is what you do, not how you feel or what you say.
Each of these men displayed an element of love. The first man showed some concern for his superior, and that's admirable. Unfortunately, he didn't really do anything helpful. In fact, his defiance cost the team the benefit of his knowledge and labor. Lost time and delayed projects probably made the manager look even worse. The second man showed a great attitude. He felt good about his manager and made his manager feel good too. At least for a little while. At least the first employee performed according to expectations. The second employee added lying to insubordination. The third employee didn't make anyone feel good. He complained and acted as if he wouldn't contribute to the new program at all. However, he was the only one of the three who actually attempted to do the work. At the end of the week, the third employee was the only one who kept his job. He was the only one who showed any meaningful love for his manager.
Good feelings and good words are great. Everyone loves to be in love, to feel warm and fuzzy and glowing. Those things are important, and all of the best marriages will have them. However, being "in love" is such a minor thing in the whole of real love. All the good feelings in the world don't help anyone except the one who has them. The object of your affections can't feel your affection. It won't keep them warm at night or dress their wounds, or encourage them when they're down. Love, to mean anything at all, must be expressed. Not just in words, because words, though still important, aren't much better than feelings. Love must be expressed through action. I can have all the affection in the world for you, but if I don't do anything for you, what good is it? Being in love without doing the things that love entails is the ultimate expression of selfishness. It denies the object of your affection any benefits, hogging them all to yourself.
The most important part of love is what you do, not how you feel or what you say.
The Role of the Poor
When Yeshua said we will always have the poor with us, he wasn't necessarily being fatalistic. He wasn't commenting on greed or hopelessness. He was saying two things (that I can think of off the top of my head):
First, the poor–or rather, the less fortunate, because there is an extreme parsity of real poverty in America–will always be with us, because that's the way God wants it. Giving to the poor is a command and carries physical and spiritual benefits for the giver. God wants us to have an opportunity to experience those benefits, so he arranges for some people to have more than others. The "War on Poverty" and mass charities are misguided and counter to the way God wants charity to work. They actually create more poverty due to economic processes, which were probably designed by God in part to ensure that there would always be an upper and a lower economic class.
That doesn't necessarily mean that some people are destined to be poor while others destined to be wealthy, nor that we should never help the poor so much that they aren't poor anymore. I'm not talking about divine right and I'm not preaching Hinduism. It just means that we shouldn't worry too much about it. Don't try to save the world. Help those you can help personally, and let God take care of the rest.
Which leads me to the second point I believe Yeshua was making: keep your priorities straight. If everyone spent all their time helping the poor, then we would all very quickly become the poor. Everyone has their mission, their ministry, and it might change from time to time. You have to keep your eyes open, spiritual and physical, and realize that, no matter how emotionally charged a problem might be, there could be more important things for you to worry about. If every pilot or tanker ditched in order to pull a wounded soldier off the field, the war would soon be lost.
First, the poor–or rather, the less fortunate, because there is an extreme parsity of real poverty in America–will always be with us, because that's the way God wants it. Giving to the poor is a command and carries physical and spiritual benefits for the giver. God wants us to have an opportunity to experience those benefits, so he arranges for some people to have more than others. The "War on Poverty" and mass charities are misguided and counter to the way God wants charity to work. They actually create more poverty due to economic processes, which were probably designed by God in part to ensure that there would always be an upper and a lower economic class.
That doesn't necessarily mean that some people are destined to be poor while others destined to be wealthy, nor that we should never help the poor so much that they aren't poor anymore. I'm not talking about divine right and I'm not preaching Hinduism. It just means that we shouldn't worry too much about it. Don't try to save the world. Help those you can help personally, and let God take care of the rest.
Which leads me to the second point I believe Yeshua was making: keep your priorities straight. If everyone spent all their time helping the poor, then we would all very quickly become the poor. Everyone has their mission, their ministry, and it might change from time to time. You have to keep your eyes open, spiritual and physical, and realize that, no matter how emotionally charged a problem might be, there could be more important things for you to worry about. If every pilot or tanker ditched in order to pull a wounded soldier off the field, the war would soon be lost.
Mexican Standoff in Lebanon
Hezbollah says they won’t agree to a cease fire until Israel pulls out of Lebanon. Israel says they won’t pull out of Lebanon or agree to a cease fire until the UN sends more peacekeeping troops. The UN says they won’t send peacekeepers until Israel agrees to a cease fire.
Huh. OK. Let’s see….
The Israeli government is as full of politicians as any other government. They can’t seem to figure out which end is the front and which is the back lately. Since they’re politicians, that might actually be a good thing. Competent (but not necessarily sane or honest) politicians are about the scariest and deadliest things on the planet.
There’s no question about trusting Hezbollah to keep their word. You’d have to be completely insane (or an incurable democrat, which might be the same thing) to think they would really stop shooting at Jews as long as a single Jew still breathes.
And the UN? Ha! Ha! LOL! Hoo! ROFLOL! Oh, man! Stop it!
Let me catch my breath…
I think what the situation really needs is a Josiah to clean house inside of Israel and a Gideon to clean everyone else’s house. No more games, no more PR campaigns, only justice.
Will that bring a lasting peace? Not unless that Josiah and Gideon come in the singular person of the returning Messiah Yeshua. Even so, come Adonai Yeshua.
Huh. OK. Let’s see….
The Israeli government is as full of politicians as any other government. They can’t seem to figure out which end is the front and which is the back lately. Since they’re politicians, that might actually be a good thing. Competent (but not necessarily sane or honest) politicians are about the scariest and deadliest things on the planet.
There’s no question about trusting Hezbollah to keep their word. You’d have to be completely insane (or an incurable democrat, which might be the same thing) to think they would really stop shooting at Jews as long as a single Jew still breathes.
And the UN? Ha! Ha! LOL! Hoo! ROFLOL! Oh, man! Stop it!
Let me catch my breath…
I think what the situation really needs is a Josiah to clean house inside of Israel and a Gideon to clean everyone else’s house. No more games, no more PR campaigns, only justice.
Will that bring a lasting peace? Not unless that Josiah and Gideon come in the singular person of the returning Messiah Yeshua. Even so, come Adonai Yeshua.
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