Morning Moments

Oh my we have a hot potato today:) Seriously, all that Paul has been saying is that women have such an influence upon men (ex: Ever over Adam), that ladies need to be very careful, because men tend to be a little stupid sometimes.

Remember the man who asked his wife, "Honey, why do you think God made you so beautiful and yet so dumb?" To which she replied, "Well, he made me beautiful so that you would love me and he made me dumb so that I would love you."

One more little tidbit before we start - okay maybe two:
1. Man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man. Women can get along better without men than men get along without women.
2. Women were drawn to Jesus because of His genuine love and pure heart. He never took advantage of them and He never betrayed them. That is the kind of man every woman desires whether she realized it or not, and it takes Jesus to make us that way gentlemen.

Now to today's text: 2:11 - Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

Before we get too excited about this verse, let's remember the difference between custom, culture and commandment.

The word for silence means "peace" or "rest". In classical Greek it was used for stillness and safety. The silence here is one that comes from within and not one that is forced by another. Paul told the Thessalonians to "study to be quiet". We are all to live a "quiet and peaceable life" as much as lies within us.

The word translated "subjection" indicates obedience and conveys the idea of yielding to authority, as the next verse says. ALL believers are to express respectful obedience and subjection to those who are in positions of authority. Remember we are talking about public worship here. What Paul is teaching is exactly what Jesus did, even to those who reviled and rejected Him. He submitted to Him who judges righteously. As husbands and wives, we are to submit ourselves to one another to demonstrate our respect for one another and for God.

Please do not miss the point in this verse and do not take it out of its context to make it a pretext. It is simply saying that no one has the right to be obnoxious and disruptive in public worship. Rather we are to be peacefully learning and respectfully submitting to those who have the responsibility of teaching us. We may disagree and may even have to correct as did Pricilla and Aquila, but we do it in an appropriate way and the appropriate time.

Now that was not so difficult was it? The truth properly translated.

Blessings!