Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; Ephesians 5:22-25
The Bible rejects both male chauvinism and feminism. Both male chauvinism and feminism would like to describe the husband and wife relationship as a 50:50 relationship when it is not. God is not male chauvinistic such that He favors husbands. Both feminism and male chauvinism are disobedience to God's word and the consequence is the high divorce rate in the United States.
How can we say that we are to take on a responsibility of 50:50 or 70:30 or any other ratio? The Bible simply stresses taking both husband's and wife's responsibilities in a marriage relationship to maintain order. That would be ridiculous and tragic, especially in a loving relationship such as marriage. Marriage is not a competition. It is not about who's getting more and who's not. It is a loving relationship in which both partners sacrifice for the sake of the other. Both the husband and wife must give 100% to one another, or else they would seriously have to examine their love for one another and start changing themselves, not their spouse. (1 Corinthians 13:1-8) So, both husband and wife must reflect their sacrifice for each other the same way that Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross for the church.
The Christ does seem to be male chauvinistic when He commands the wives to submit to their husbands, but that is not the case. He provided a way for salvation for everyone. The requirement to be saved is the same for both men and women - faith in Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3:28) The Bible tells husbands to love heir wives as Christ loved the church. (Ephesians 5:23) This puts husbands in the place of Christ in His relationship with the church. How great is Christ's love for the church? It is an unconditional love and it is the greatest love of all. (John 3:16) It demands everything from the husband, even to the point of death, just as Christ died for us. (John 10:15) What should women do? The Bible says to submit to their husbands. (Ephesians 5:24) However, they do not need to give up their lives for their husbands.
The husbands, like their wives, have done nothing towards the miracle of salvation. They have simply accepted God's love and grace with humility, whereas Christ bore all of our sins and took it to the cross where we were destined to go. (Romans 5:8) His deed on the cross cannot even be compared to our role. God demands more of husbands because that's the way He decided it to be. Everything is in God's hands, because He knows what is best for us and He provides us with nothing but the best. One thing is for sure... God does not show favoritism. (Romans 2:11) Here's what Peter said: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right." (Acts 10:34)
God is neither a male chauvinist nor a feminist, and taking either side will have tragic consequences on the stability of the husband and wife marriage relationship. If the sisters have no spiritual obligation to obey their husbands and the brothers have no obligation to love their wives, then there will be another ongoing saga of tragic proportions in terms of divorce. Whenever the husband is a male chauvinist while his wife is a feminist, there is an element of a competition for affection and attention between the husband and wife. Both men and women are sinners. (Romans 3:23) Competition for affection and attention is not an act of cooperation and love between the husband and wife. Competition coupled with sin from both the husband and wife will only amplify the hurt and expectations between them. Thus, this is the reason why people go through divorces - sin.
As a result, feminism and male chauvinism going against the Bible is to go against God Himself (1 John 1). If one goes against God, then who will rescue him from God's wrath? Conforming to the world is not an option for the church, especially in marriage. (Romans 12:2) Ultimately, we must not try to compromise with worldly trends, but to obey God's word.
Table of Contents
Introduction on the Issues of Feminism