Eph. 5:22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

I think a lot of wives cringe when people refer to this verse in the Bible and Im not sure why. The only reason I can think of is that they are afraid this means they are to be like a doormat to their spouse; to allow him to walk all over their needs, desires, and wishes.

If we think carefully about it that sentiment of feeling out of control is simply our pride talking.

This Bible verse tells us to submit to our husbands AS TO THE LORD. Does God walk all over us and rule us without thought to our feelings? NO! He loves us and wants us to be honest with him. God wants us to be happy. He wants to bless us.

I believe that submitting to my husband means to respect him as the leader of our home. It means to have a healthy reverence for him; to not badmouth him or go behind his back in pursuit of my own desires. There will be times when I need to allow my husband to have the final word of authority in our house. But you know what? My husband needs to earn my respect and be worthy of the leadership role, as well.

As wives, we need to get over the me thing. We have a very important role in marriage. We have thoughts and ideas, and our opinions should be consulted. We are part of the marriage team with our spouse. But when it comes to moments in time where someone needs to take leadership or make a final decision on an issue; we need to submit to our husbands in that area.

The word submit shouldnt scare us or make us think we need to act like slaves to our spouse. It should merely encourage us to be a helpmate to our husband who is the man of the house.

If we fill our role in the way God intended; satisfaction, peace, and love will flow out of us and radiate into our homes. And not only our marriage, but also our family will function the way it should.