The Last Blog of Mine You May Read

I was the one who told my husband on our first date that I would be a CEO and no man would ever get in my way of accomplishing my goal. I wouldn’t have labeled myself a feminist at the time, but I guess, in some ways, I was. I certainly didn’t think I needed a man, and I was prideful enough to think it was probably the other way around.Fast forward twenty years, and my heart is completely at rest today when I read in my Priority Time in 1 Timothy 2 where Paul says, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” (If you are gagging and will never read my blog again, at least finish this one, please.) Quite honestly, if I were uncertain about God’s existence, the fact that my heart has changed so much on that one topic is proof to me that there must be a God. There is no other explanation!As I started to contemplate Paul’s statement, I was struck by something that I should’ve put together long ago. A few verses later, when Paul is explaining the reasoning behind his instruction, he puts on a scroll in black ink, “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” Now in my mind, sure, Eve was wrong in the garden of Eden; but… shame on Adam for being passive, right? The fact that God would go to the trouble to let us know that Adam was not even a little taken by the fruit speaks volumes. The contrast of Eve as a transgressor haunted me.Last week, I was hot. Fuming. I fundamentally disagreed with Chris’s parenting decision. He’s always more merciful than I am… but in my eyes, this was over the top. Mercy had turned into ridiculous. I could’ve listed one hundred reasons to let down the hammer, but instead “we” were going to respond with an extra portion of kindness. (I know this sounds remotely like Jesus, but stay on my side, ok?)Paul, inspired by God, called Eve a transgressor. She stepped ahead of Adam. She stepped over Adam. You might even say she stepped on Adam. Wow. Sometimes, it doesn’t even matter the temperament of a man when we get on our high horse. When we get our heart set on something, we can be in grave danger of becoming a transgressor. That was me that night.By God’s grace, I only spoke 25% of what was going on in my mind before Chris simply said, “In the big scheme, does this really matter?” He was right. Sometimes I just like to camp out in the “little scheme.” The next day mercy was extended. I could’ve tried to force my agenda the night before, but the result would’ve been regret that something so trivial could have put a wedge in my relationship with Chris.I challenge you to consider: Are you jumping ahead of your husband? Are you stepping over your husband? Are you stepping on your husband? twitter | facebook