As I listened to a sermon today on the importance of Christ-like relationships I became excited, while also frustrated. The sermon was about the importance of wives submitting to their husbands, whom are in turn intended to love their wives as Christ loved the church. As usual, religion aside this sermon held a lot of great advice for couples.

The lesson was that women are called to submit in a such a way that they are not presenting barriers to their husbands to lead the household in a Godly manner. They should love their husbands in a way that makes the husband want to be better for them. Husbands in return are meant to love their wives as Christ loved the church. With “sacrificial, purifying, caring, & unbreakable love.” I won’t dive into the breakdown of those, just know that men have a very important, yet extremely difficult task of honoring their wives & leading them in the right direction. Husbands were not intended to take advantage of the wife’s submission, rather use it as inspiration to treat her with this incredible love. 

As the message went on single women were called to be patient. Not to submit to just any man who walked into their lives, but rather to wait for the one who would earn their submission & would treat them with the respect they deserve in return. This sounded so empowering! Women have the right to choose. If we all actually did this, held out for this kind of loving connection, how different our relationships would be. 

With this power in mind I began to question, why is it this sounds so enticing, but I have such a difficult time being patient? The answer is simple, & a quote from The Perks of Being a Wallflower, “We accept the love we think we deserve.” Until we learn to love ourselves enough to truly believe we deserve to be treated right, we will not be willing to wait patiently. It will be a constant battle to avoid or cut-off those who misuse & abuse us. Therefore, self-love is once again the focus of a stable relationship foundation. Until you can learn to love yourself, you cannot expect someone to love you in a way that you can not. Until you can love yourself, you can not submit yourself to that person properly. As we fill our own cup with self-love, we have more to offer others. 

Women are called to submit, which requires a high level of trust. That trust cannot be offered up to just anyone. Save it for someone who will do right by you, someone who appreciates all that you offer & wants to honor your submission. Men, be trustworthy. Earn your woman’s submission by treating her with respect & leading your household in an honorable manner. ❤