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The S-Word


Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:21)

           There’s that S-word again. Somehow, they should find a way to remove two letters, then it would be a perfect bit of foul language. In this case, there’s the slight amelioration that it’s not one group of people specifically being told to submit to another group of people. This isn’t wives, children, or slaves submitting, but everyone within the Christian community submitting to others of the same kind.
In this time of crisis, the government has called on us to submit by isolating ourselves. Effectively, we’re supposed to care for others by caring for ourselves – by staying home. I don’t know about you but I have things to do, places to go, people to see, and a book to promote (soon)! I don’t have time for this isolation stuff. I’ve heard and read of young folks particularly, who refuse to give up their “spring break” in Florida because of this disease. Submit? No way! Life is too short, and they’re young, so it won’t likely kill them, even if it kills their grandparents when the students go home and visit them.
            As the park where I live in Florida is emptying out, I’m struggling with the issue of submission. I’m starting to close things down to drive north. Am I being unsubmissive? Should I be staying here? When I get up north, what am I going to do? We’re in a crisis. I’ve shared calls for the Church to rise up and be the Church. We’re supposed to move into the crisis and help others. I’ve read the books and seen the movies. Heroes rise up in a time of crisis. But the problem is that the crisis isn’t here. It’s somewhere out there and keeping it from being here involves submitting to restrictions others advise or even submitting to restrictions that we place on ourselves. While heroism often involves sacrifice, the sacrifice of staying home so that I don’t endanger others just isn’t as romantic a gesture as I want to make, especially since I’m not in one of the more endangered categories.
           Since I’m winding down and starting to pack, but don’t plan to leave for a few days, I have time to finish a few projects and to do some thinking and goal setting. And one of the considerations for those goals is to find ways to turn this part of my journey into something beautiful while submitting to the restrictions society and I place on me. How can I be heroic while hunkering?
           One of the answers to this is that hunkering doesn’t mean sitting around watching TV. Submission doesn’t involve passiveness. It involves doing what you can within the restrictions you face. You may know what that means, but since I’m facing my semi-annual migration, there’s a whole life to rebuild up north. I’m walking by faith into yet another unknown. We all are, so how do we do it with hope? Part of that involves finding ways to work while submitting. Time to set some goals.

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