The subject of submission came up recently in one of our Elder Board meetings and we talked briefly about the culture we find ourselves living in today. No one submits anymore. We live independent lives, relying on ourselves and our own intuition to get us through the highs and lows of life. This is not just a phenomena of the younger generation, but applies across all segments of our society. Old or young or in between, we don't put ourselves very often in situations where submission seems desirable or profitable. And yet, shouldn't that be something we cultivate in ourselves out of humility and respect for the wisdom God grants to others?
I include myself in this lack. The very word makes my palms sweaty. Images of being controlled, taken advantage of, misunderstood, rise up in my mind. It's one thing for Mike to submit to a golf pro he's paying, but another thing for me to act on the advice of my friends, family or spouse when it seems counter-intuitive to the usual way I approach my life. Still, there's something freeing in voluntarily giving up my own way of doing something, to be humble and accept the advice when I know the giver is thinking of my best interests. Whether it's in the revising of a poem or in the way I pray about a situation, I am trying to cultivate "experts" to help me grow. It has been an interesting journey for me over the last year to give up some of my freedom and listen to wise counsel and then act on it and see where it takes me.
What reminded me of this today was the thought of the Virginia Tech student who so resoundingly did not submit to authority and well-intentioned advice in his life. When we think we are above the wisdom of others, we leave ourselves terribly open to pain and confusion that might have been avoided. If you look at your life and notice only one voice giving direction to it, I would encourage you to experiment a little. Find an area where you are "stuck" and seek out an expert, and then submit to doing what they suggest. Maybe (like Mike) it's your golf swing, your relationship with a family member, your stale approach to God, but there are surely people you can find who will look at it from a different perspective and give you real help. Ultimately, our expert is Jesus and the wisdom he has for us. If God is the most brilliant being in existence, maybe we should pay a bit more attention to what he is saying to us, both through his word and through the considered opinions of the people he has put in our lives to guide us to him.
Do you submit to the authorities in your life (pastors, counsellors, teachers, parents, friends, small group)? If so, I would love to know if the discipline of submission has taught you new things about yourself and opened up new vistas in those "stuck" places.
1 comment:
Submission is an area in which I certinly am week. Dave Holcomb knows this as well as anyone else. Recently I started reading a book on prayer and Dave gave me some great advice. He suggested that as I was reading the book, I excepted the author as an authority on the subject. He also suggested that as I read I assume that each thing the author was saying was true and for the durration of the book I try everything the author suggested. This advice has had a supprising effect. Though I know that I am a novice in prayer, as I read I find myself start to dissagree with different points. But I fight my instinct to dissreagard what the author is saying and instead I take Daves advice. I find that I am getting much more out of the book by doing this.
I realize that this is a very narrow application of submission, but it has had a powerful effect on me.
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