"What freedom corresponds to submission? It is the ability to lay down the terrible burden of always needing to get our own way."
- Foster, 111
Submission, simply put, is the act of setting aside our need to control and allowing some other person, idea, or plan take over. Our entire culture is counter to the idea of submission. Exploitation of others and the pursuit of our good is pervasive in the idea of what it means to be successful. We do have a terrible burden of being told that we need to be the center of our worlds. Why is this a burden? Well, because when we are constantly focused on ourselves, we become unbearable to be around. We loose all of the ability to value other people and their lives. So they leave. It becomes a burden because when we focus on ourselves, we are left alone to face the world.
The discipline of submission while it targets this burden is also about a corresponding freedom. Submission allows us to freely love others unconditionally. It allows us to respect, consider, and show grace to those around us. It allows us to invite others into our community. This type of submission needs to be evident in our relationship to God, in our relationships with our families, in our relationships with our friends, and most definitely with strangers.
One of the hardest parts about submission is the inner attitude that it creates. To start submission, the easiest relationship to submit to is God. I mean obviously we can get on board with submitting to the guy Who laid down His Son in sacrifice for us. The next easiest is those we are closest to like family and significant others. We already know how much they love us, and how they have vowed to love us unconditionally. They aren't going to take advantage of our submission. We can submit to those loved ones. Then a little harder is our friends. We love our friends, and they love us, but they are not always the nicest to us. Its hard to submit to people who aren't very nice. The absolute hardest is strangers and enemies. We can't even fathom that. How in the world can we put ourselves in an inferior position to rude people we can't stand? That is where the inner attitude comes in. Once we start practicing submission in baby steps, we end up cultivating submission into our character. We begin to see Christ in others and in ourselves when we lay down our pride for the sake of others. Submission is one the best emulations of Christ and what He did for us. Just look at Philippians 2:5-11! Now is that a picture of submission, or what?
I was convicted through this discipline. I see so evidently that submission was a characteristic of Christ that I need to model. If you know me, you know that I am a control freak. I hate to be wrong, I hate to admit when others are right, I hate when plans change, I hate when people take advantage of me, and I hate being treated like dirt. All of this culminates into a very defensive and dominate personality. I need more submission in my life. So for my practice of discipline this week, I was very deliberate in my response to people. I was very critical of my interaction and my attitude throughout the day. When someone asked to borrow my car, I said yes. When people asked for help or to talk to me, I said yes. I was intentional about not complaining about my hard classes and frustrating professors. I did not participate in "one upping" others in conversation, and let them be right. I did a lot of random, different things every day to reach into submission.
As a result, I think I am closer to having an attitude of submission. Obviously, this is something at which I can't ever "arrive," but I do think I learned a lot from practicing this discipline. I began to recognize my triggers and my gut reactions. I think I am on my way towards getting better at not reacting to those negatively. I think I am beginning to train myself to raise others above myself, and realizing the burden I was creating. I really think I am becoming passionate about submission in my life. And actually, this is one of them that I would highly recommend others to try. Good luck :)
Happy reading!
Have a blessed day!
In Christ,
Alyssa
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