On Respect for Women Essay #2 (Revisited/Revised) - Who's Boss?

Let's begin by considering the Triune God:  God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.  In the New Testament (John's gospel in particular), Christ always humbles himself to the Father :  Christ does what the Father wills; he does not do anything on his own, but only what the Father commands of Him.  Yet He is God.  Don't ask me where the Holy Spirit fits in this.  Yet there are THREE Persons.

In the union of a man and a woman in marriage there is a trinity.  God is the third person in that trinity; in other words the man, the woman and God compose the trinity within marriage.  This is the way God designed marriage.  We thus have a good example of how God has blessed the wonderful state of marriage.  In the Trinity there is Unity; each Person has a role. Each Person acts in Love, Humility and Harmony in accomplishing that role - The Eternal Plan of God.  Why should it be any different in the trinity of Marriage?

While in Genesis God assigns roles to our just fallen parents, this is not the whole story!  To say that God has made the man master over the woman is too simplistic an interpretation and yet this is exactly the interpretation that many still have of the man and the woman in marriage.  The genesis account deals not only with the roles of the man and the woman, who is to be subject to the man, but with the
terrible consequences of human disobedience to God, dealing with the suffering and hardships which are now to come not only into the lives of these unfortunate two, but all their descendants; to us.

But then the promised Redeemer comes upon the scene in Israel.  It is amazing to glean from scripture the low esteem Jews of the time had for women.  But Jesus Christ set into motion a necessary remedy for this interpretation of Scripture (or as Jesus remarks, a FULFILLMENT  of God's words) in Genesis: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."

Jesus shows right from the start of His public ministry the true meaning, the true fullness, of God's words to Adam and Eve, and to all of us, written in Genesis:  In Cana of Galilee, Mary, His Mother, a woman, is given the honor of suggesting the time for His first miracle of changing water into wine.  Throughout His ministry Jesus shows the great love, respect, honor and forgiveness He has for women.

The pharisees, the teachers of the Law and even His own disciples are surprised and shocked by His loving consideration of women.  There are so many accounts, in Scripture, of Christ demonstrating how God wishes women to be honored and respected.  This message was not just for those of His own time, but a message for those living in His Kingdom on Earth now, and for all time.

Plainly speaking, God's love and respect for women shown through His Son, coupled with the realization of the Love and Harmony within the Trinity of God should lead us to no other conclusion that God desires the same love and harmony within the trinity of Human marriage.  A man and a woman, in concert with guidance from God, work out the best way to build their lives to provide good things for their family, offspring, neighbors, community and nation.  Who's the boss?

Considering Genesis where God defines the role of the man as being the head of the family and when we read the epistles of St. Paul who affirms the role of the woman in marriage to be obedient to her husband it seems clear that the husband would be the "boss"; however in the same manner as Jesus Christ, the Son, is always obedient to God the Father, there is no question of an oppressive Father and
a chattel Son.

Their relationship is one of perfect Harmony and Love. The Father loves the Son and is pleased with Him because He does all things well.  And the Son, in perfect Humility, does only what the Father asks Him to do.

When considering the aforementioned question of "Who is the Boss?" in the marriage relationship, the model of love and harmony present between Christ and His Father must certainly require such harmony and love between the husband and his wife.  But because of our state of imperfection due to sin, we can gain better insight into God's plan for marriage when consideration is given the basic differences between a man and a women, especially on a psychological level.

In this essay my goal in responding to this question of "Who is the Boss?"was to give greater consequence to the harmony and love necessary in this important trinity of marriage; if harmony and love are not present, which person is the "boss" is of little guarantee of a happy marriage.

In my next essay I hope to address the importance of an understanding of the differences between a man and a woman and how they see the world and each other ; only in this way can we better deal with the behavior of men and women in a variety of relationships and interactions so as to better conform ourselves and others to God's plan for mankind; in this process we seek enlightenment regarding the implications of the question, "Who is the Boss?"