"So Your Prayers Are Not Hindered"
Couples should make it a priority to come to a point of harmony on important issues such as Sabbath-keeping, tithing, and those relating to their children, etc. While orthodoxy should trump harmony, harmony remains an important aspect of married and family life. Even if a resolution takes longer to be achieved, the process of ensuring mutual respect for the other’s view will make subsequent differences of opinion more easily resolved.
- Andrea G. Schwartz
From The Kingdom Driven Family Blog:
I know many godly women who have made it a priority to submit to their husbands as part of their faithful service as Christians. There are many passages in Scripture that support this concept, and yet Colossians 3:18 stands out for its clarification: “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” [Emphasis mine].
What does this mean? Well, it most definitely applies to the structure of the family as ordained by God. In other words, it is proper (fitting) that wives respect the role God ordained for them from the beginning: as a helper in a supportive, subordinate capacity. Yet, “fitting” also has reference to the idea that wives should submit to their husbands in accordance with God’s law-word, rather than submitting to the whims of their spouse. This means that a woman needs to know God’s law and apply it in her life.
- Andrea G. Schwartz
Andrea Schwartz is Chalcedon’s family and Christian education advocate, and the author of eight books including: A House for God: Building a Kingdom-Driven Family, The Biblical Trustee Family: Understanding God’s Purpose for Your Household, Empowered: Developing Strong Women for Kingdom Service, Woman of the House: A Mother’s Role in Building a Christian Culture, and The Homeschool Life: Discovering God’s Way to Family-Based Education. She’s also the co-host of the Out of the Question podcast, the Chalcedon podcast, and has an active teaching schedule with women and high schooled students.. She can be reached at [email protected].