Obedience To Husbands

The world today is in a state of unrest. Confusion abounds upon every side. Mankind is groping for a solution to multitudi­nous problems, all of which are staggering in their implications. But to me it appears that the reason for our conflicting concepts and the resulting chaos is simply that we have departed from the teachings and principles set forth by a wise and beneficent Crea­tor. Certainly God should know what is best for man. And when man considers himself wiser than God, and
forsakes the philosophy of life ordained by the Heavenly Father, to follow the dictates of his own pleasure, he brings ruin upon himself. Of the ancient heathen, it was affirmed by the great apostle, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." That just about sums up our condition today.

We have made words such as liberty and freedom our catchwords and mottoes. We no doubt inspired a great deal of patriotism and may have won the great war so recently culminated by our emphasis upon The Four Freedoms. But much of what we call freedom in these days is merely license. We use the word to cover up our philandering with the truth of heaven and our departures from God's plan. Thus when someone contradicts our false scheme of life we can scream that he is interfering with our liberty and tampering with our freedom.

Once a colored minister was asked to define the term "status quo." He scratched his head a moment, and gave the best answer that could possibly be given. "Brethern," he said, "that's the Latin term for the mess we're in." I want to tell you one thing, then, that has produced our present moral "status quo." Society is based upon the home! All other relations, local, national and international, are based upon the recognition of this foundation. But in our insane desire for what we call "freedom," but which is in reality nothing but "license" to do as we please, we have broken up God's system of authority. Now, all authority in the world stems from this foundation. When it is overturned, there will be no way of checking the tide of delinquency.

Let me explain what I mean! And before I do, let me say you're not going to like it! If some of you had your way, you'd howl me down. Others would prefer riding me out of town on a rail. But you listen to what I say, for it is the truth, whether you like it or not. And it's about time someone told you the plain truth in an unvarnished fashion.

When God made man out of the dust of the ground, he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became' a living soul. But God saw that it was not good for man to be alone. Man could not, by himself, accomplish that which God desired or had ordained for him to do. So God took from man's body the substance from which He formed his companion. He brought her to man as his perfect counterpart, and when he looked upon this beautiful creature, he declared, "She is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh, therefore shall she be called woman." This of course to signify that she was taken from man. Then God ordained that sacred
institution, the home, when he said, "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh." This was the divine origin of that solemn, intimate, loving relationship which was to perpetuate mankind and to act as a restraint upon vice and im­moral lust, which would wreck the world that had been created.

After man had sinned, God spoke to the woman, saying, "Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee" (Genesis 3:16). Unto the man he spoke thus, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake&Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth unto thee&In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the groun have been made chimneys for tobacco and nicotine fumes. I sup­pose a lot of you women who listen today are gritting your teeth. That may help you to get the tobacco stain off of them, so grit away. You may be biting your nails. Better be careful, though, for you may get poisoned
with some of the polish which has been borrowed from savages who have always streaked themselves with war paint.

A few years ago when women entered a public conveyance and there were no unoccupied seats, the men arose and offered them a place to sit down. But not any more! And why not? Well, you asked for it¾now you're getting it! You wanted to act like men, dress like men, perform like men, and now you can stand like men. You've gained what you felt was freedom, and you have destroyed modesty and love¾you've forfeited the things that real­ly count. You've run the score up in divorce courts until it almost equals the marriages; you've dragged your own children down to hell; youve placed the nation on the skids. And you've paid for it in
the loss of your sons and in the disrespect of your own daughters. And you're not through paying for it yet. Don't forget that I said that!

The Bible cannot be ignored! You can laugh at it, scoff at it, ridicule it, and deride it! But God is behind it¾and His Word will surely come to pass. Here are some of the things that the Bible teaches as essential to make a happy home. Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord" (Ephesians 5:22). That simply means that God has enjoined such submis­sion, and you cannot do otherwise and please the Lord. That degree of subjection is specified in this teaching, "As the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."

Hear the apostle Paul. "But I would have ye 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" (1 Corinthians 11:3). That is the order of authority in the universe. God is supreme. Christ is under Him. Man is under Christ. The woman is subject to man. Just as God rules through love, so Christ rules through love. And just as Christ exercises His headship by love, so the husband should do the same. There must be no arrogant assertion of authority. God would not require Christ to do anything that is wrong. Christ would not require man to do anything that was wrong. And man has no right to command his wife to do that which violates conscience or the obedience of God.

The wife should act as to deserve the love of the husband, and the husband should act so as to deserve the respect of his wife. Then, by mutual regard, the home will be a place of joy and happiness!

Lesson #7: "The Faithful Wife" will follow in the next mailing.
"Lessons From Yesterday" is compiled by Dwain R. Stoops
If you have comments, please contact: dstoops@msn.com
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