This one is for those of the Christian Faith, I can't speak for any others on this matter because i don't really know what the position is. In Nigeria, when it comes to marriage, there is one word that is always being bandied about. Did you guess 'love'? Wrong!! the answer is submission.
'Submission' is a word used to exploit women, it has been used to keep women in abusive relationships, to prevent women from reaching their full potential and to turn them into perpetual slaves. Don't get me wrong, I certainly believe in submission but only within the confines of a loving relationship.
Paul speaks about marriage in a few places in the New Testament, one such passage is Eph 5:21-29 which talks first about global submission,i.e. The duty of everyone to submit to everyone else, in humility. The passage then turns to focus on the marriage relationship. It first speaks about wives submitting fully to husbands in every way (we have certainly heard the detail of that), and then goes on to expound on husbands loving their wives totally as Christ loved the church. That was not enough, Paul went on to put it into context, he made it practical so that no one could twist his words or try to wriggle out of this command, he said that men should love and treat their wives the way they love and treat themselves. No wriggle room left.
Can you imagine how different many women's situation would be if the ministers, fathers, husbands, brothers etc. Who banged on about submission equally banged on about self sacrificing love of husbands towards wives???? Truth be told, to love is harder than to submit in the way the bible describes it; true love never forces its own way or tries to exploit another, it is patient and kind so that even when the woman doesn't submit, it forgives and keeps no record of wrongs. I think we should get husbands to read 1st Corinthinans 13 to understand what true love is and how love goes hand in hand with submission.
I believe that Paul, being full of the Holy Spirit when he wrote this letter had no intention to create disadvantage for anyone but rather to create equality in a loving submissive marriage relationship before a just and loving God.
So to all the people who keeping shouting submit without talking about the love part, check yourself, because submission can only exist where there is true love, to suggest otherwise is to support exploitation in the name of A just God. #justsaying
