Hi Sam, I know you want answers from women, but I think my answer will surprise you, and possibly many Christian men and women. Men, forgive me, but I'm going to tell them. You see, in the original language, Ephesians 5:22 doesn't literally say for the wives to do anything the husbands aren't supposed to do...just the opposite. The original language is one continuous sentence from 5:21 all the way beyond 5:25. You have to understand, there were no topic headings, chapters or verses in the original Greek...even the punctuation was different, not that Paul bothered with punctuation much. So, what does it say?
"Submit to one another...wives, to your husbands..." 5:21-22 In the same sentence on mutual submission, Paul writes, "Submit to one another...Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." 5:21-25 According to Paul's teaching, here, women are allowed to choose to submit to their husbands just like Jesus allows us to choose in our every decision to submit to Him. We Men, in addition to mutually submitting to our wives, have the added responsibility to sacrifice ourselves, our needs and wants out of love for our wives...just like Christ did for the church.
In fact, Sam, this may go a long way toward explaining why women would want to be Christian and want a Christian husband. If her husband is following Christ's example, her needs and wants are his top priority...why would she want to be a mere equal as in the secular world?
I'll leave the rest for others to answer.
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Love & Hugs, Glen
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