There is a requirement in the Christian life that addresses the flaw at the core of our human nature…it’s called submission. How hard it is for us to surrender ourselves with our selfishness, and our self-centred wants and desires, to the will of another.

This flaw already rears its ugly head in a toddler, for example, by a display of uncontrolled frustration when he can’t get his own way.

Selfishness slowly erodes harmony in a family until the home becomes a war zone between siblings, and between parents and children.

Why is submission so often neglected in the rearing of children, so hard to learn, and so strongly resisted on every level of society, from the home to the school and into the workplace and beyond?

When Adam’s love and submission to God were tested, he chose self over his Creator. So, this characteristic of selfishness was cemented into the inner being of every person descended from Adam.

God’s grace implants a new nature in the heart of those who believe in Jesus and… grace enables us to overcome our selfishness but….grace does not remove the self in us. God left the old nature there for a purpose.

Let’s go back to the beginning. Before sin intruded and destroyed the harmony God intended in human society, He gave the first pair His order for marriage and the home.

Genesis 2:18, 21-24 NLT
[18] “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”…
[21] So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. [22] Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. [23] “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” [24] This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”

Since God is a God of order, He requires the order of authority and submission to be applied on every level of society to maintain harmony and functionality. Starting with homes as the building blocks of society, God gave husbands the role of leader in the family. This leadership involves responsibility and accountability. The buck always stops with the person in charge.

To the wife, God gave the role of helper. After the fall, this order was entrenched in the marriage bond.

Genesis 3:16 NLT
[16] Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

This means that she was intended both to assist and submit to her husband’s leadership role. Where the husband leads with her help, she follows and accompanies him together with her children in their attitude to his husband/father role.

The role of children is to learn submission and obedience to prepare them for their future roles as husbands and wives.

God’s order is both simple and functional. However, there can be no harmony when one or another refuses to remain within the boundaries of his/her own role.

In God’s church, humble, mutual submission is the cornerstone of unity which God prizes greatly in His family.

Psalms 133:1-3 NLT
[1] “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! [2] For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. [3] Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.”

Ephesians 4:3-6 NLT
[3]”Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. [4] For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. [5] There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”

When God’s people fail to understand how significant this precious ingredient is in the life of His family, a pastor becomes a firefighter rather than a shepherd of God’s flock.

Why did God leave this old selfish nature in us to coexist with our new godly nature? Did He not realise that our hearts would become war zones and our lives a constant battle between flesh and spirit?

That’s exactly what He planned. Had He not deliberately set up this situation that needs His constant supply of grace to overcome, we would never learn this most important and most beautiful lesson in this life to prepare us for the next. Jesus said, “Without me, you can do nothing! “

Unity is the hallmark of the Trinity. The ancient Isaelites were to learn and proclaim this truth from birth.

Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV
[4] “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

The Hebrew word “echad” implies, not a singular entity but unity (of being and purpose), unity in diversity. Consider this instruction regarding the tabernacle coverings….

Exodus 26:3, 6 NIV
[3] “Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five….
[6] Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit.”

The word translated “unit” is the same Hebrew, word “echad”.

God’s oneness is displayed on every level of creation. Despite the presence of sin, the natural world functions as a unit and remains in balance without human interference. Creatures live in harmony with their natural habitat, and even preditors and prey remain in balance within God’s order.

Humans are the only creatures who upset God’s order when they refuse to obey His instructions. We only have to observe the chaos we have created by plundering rather than managing the earth and its resources.

Imagine what our earth and society would be like if we lived in harmony with one another in God’s order of authority and submission.

This intended order does not work in human society outside the church because selfishness inevitably takes control in the world system. Lawlessness increases, people demand their rights, protest with violence, engage in strikes, marches, and protests of one kind or another to get their own way, whether their demands are reasonable or not.

However, in God’s kingdom, the beauty of harmony can only happen through God’s grace and power, helping us to subdue and reign over self for the sake of unity. Unity, Jesus said, is evidence that the Father sent Him….

John 17:21 NLT
[21] “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.”

… and mutual love tells the world that we are His disciples…

John 13:34-35 NLT
[34] “So now, I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.
[35] Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Mutual submission’s powerful motivation rests in our attitude to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:21 NLT
[21] “And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Once again, it’s all about Him.