'My Wife has to do Anything I Tell Her?!'

'My wife has to do anything I tell her to: it's in the Bible!'

I've run into some men - and, astonishingly, women - who seem to believe that.

The claim that 'Catholic husbands boss their wives around' wasn't high on the list of reasons radio preachers gave for loathing the Catholic Church when I was growing up. Partly, I suspect, because quite a few of them liked this verse, and didn't want to confuse their flock:

"Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord."
(Ephesians 5:22)

More About This Tomorrow

This post is part of one I'm writing for tomorrow. I accidentally hit the 'publish' button, which made it show up about 20 hours earlier than planned. Oops.

Instead of deleting this post, I figure I'll put that quote from Sacred Scripture in context, explain what happened, and move on.

First, the rest of that bit from Ephesians:

"5 Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.⁶

"Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.

"For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body.

"As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her

"to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,

"that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

"So (also) husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

"For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church,

"because we are members of his body.

" 'For this reason a man shall leave (his) father and (his) mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' "
(Ephesians 5:21-30)

Considering the mutual submission required, and what Jesus did for his Church on Golgotha, I don't think those verses from Ephesians give me the right to 'lord it' over my wife. At all.

Now, I'd better get back to work and get tomorrow's post ready.

Vaguely-related posts:

• " "Not Just Something, but Someone' "
  (April 11, 2012)
• "Vocations for Everyone"
  (December 11, 2011)
• "Space Aliens, Michele Bachmann, and Daft Assumptions"
  (September 2, 2011)
• "Minnesota's Archbishop, Marriage, and Getting a Grip"
  (June 10, 2011)
• "Marriage, Catholic Beliefs, and This Catholic"
  (September 24, 2009)
  Particularly
  • Read the Book! It says be Subordinate to Each Other!