Submissive Master

As a gesture of team spirit and cooperation our new principal invited each teacher to his office so he could get to know us. (I was a 7th grade math teacher.) After asking a series of questions to get to know me, his final question was, “What is the job of a principal?”

Without hesitation I answered: “The best principal is a servant to his teachers. It is his job to ensure that the teachers can teach.” (That was what my first principal believed and modeled.)

As you might imagine, my principal’s face did not light up with joy. In fact, he looked puzzled and then reframed the question. I guess I had not answered correctly.

Sometimes we react the same way to difficult statements in Scripture. You can guess the kinds of teachings I’m thinking about, such as extending forgiveness, being submissive, or showing mercy to that kind of person. Like my principle, we sometimes act puzzled as if we do not understand. Could it be because we don’t like what the Scriptures say?

The Apostle Paul wrote:

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

--Ephesians 5:21

We embrace the imperative in the prohibitions: Do not commit adultery, do not steal, and do not lie; but somehow the imperative to submit to one another does not seem to carry the same weight. Have we ignored this verse? Have we reworked the words until it has little impact?

The word ‘submit’ means to ‘stand in rank under another.’ It is a word applied to servants and is not a popular idea in any group.

Submit to God? Yes!
Submit to Christ? Yes!
These imperatives are fitting.

But, submit to one another!? Difficult!

If we are to submit to others we must look beyond ourselves. We must see people as souls for whom Christ died, regardless of personality.

Paul revealed that “...our struggle is not against flesh and blood...” but against spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:12). Applied to me, I must recognize that no matter how difficult it is to get along with you, you are not the enemy!

So, how can I follow this imperative, “Submit”?

I must adopt the right attitude by submitting to my fellow Christians “out of reverence for Christ.” In other words, I am first submitting to Christ as my Master.

And did you notice the title, ‘Submissive Master’? It is a contradiction of terms. Masters do not submit. Yet, when we follow God’s instruction and submit to one another, we are imitating Christ. We are walking in the steps of Jesus just as he demonstrated submission while on earth. Do you remember how Jesus responded to God in the garden of Gethsemane?

“...not My will, but Yours be done.”

— Luke 22:42

He then died on the cross…
     ...in my place,
     ...in your place.

By this selfless act of love he declared:
     "You are more important than I."

Only with the same attitude can we ever learn to submit to one another.

Mark Stinnett

June 23, 2024