The word SUBMISSION frustrated me. It seemed good, but yet seemed so hurtful at times & people I knew were treated badly. I did a lot of searching through definitions of Submission. Many are distorted. This is the most appropriate explanation I have found and with permission to quote, here it is…..
“True submission is not always making the one we submit to happy, but seeking his or her best interest at our own expense. True submission is not building up the ego of another with flattery, but building up another with truth, truth that is proclaimed and practiced in love. True submission is not a guarantee that we will thereby avoid pain and suffering, but an attitude and outlook which can govern our attitudes and actions when we are suffering innocently for Christ’s sake.
We should also see that we submit first to God and then to others because we know God is sovereign, He is in control, and He will fulfill all of His purposes and promises.
I submit to you that a man cannot truly be a spiritual leader until he has come to submit himself to those whom he leads. He does not follow those whom he leads, but he does subordinate his interests to the interests of those whom he leads.
When we die to self, we live; when we give up our lives, we find them; when we abandon our pursuit of fulfillment, we are fulfilled.” Bob Deffinbaugh – Bible.org
Does this definition change the way you think? I felt a huge burden lift from me. I felt empowered to do more to change and to act beautiful even if it has to be in suffering.
Bob Deffinbaugh Definition of Submission
( https://bible.org/seriespage/15-taking-second-look-submission-1-peter-213-37 )
Relationship Notes 