Kristen

Cheryl said,
“The more I think about what Mark is saying, the more I believe that his wife is the key to his authority. He has not authority to force himself on her or to take authority over her so if she doesn’t give him his “rights” there is nothing that he can do. In other words the power is in the woman’s hands not in his. She gives him the right to make the final decision and she gives him the right to make an “authoritative” decision.”
Yeah, but I wonder if Mark thinks about it more like this: He has authority, but it is not Christlike to insist upon or take authority. After all, Christ has authority, certainly, but He lets us choose whether or not to follow Him. Even so, it must be up to Mark’s wife to choose to follow Mark. Logically, choosing not to force authority upon someone is not the same as not having authority.
Just trying to be fair. (grin)
I had a question, though. My husband has been working really hard on his final projects to graduate with his graphic design degree. (He’ll be done tomorrow! Yay!) After a presentation of his portfolio that he made to the faculty, his fellow students and their families, we both wanted to go have lunch. He was so tired that he had absolutely no desire to make a decision about where we should go for lunch– nor was he really capable of making a decision at that point because his brain was in a fog of fatigue. He did not come right out and say, “I want you to make the decision,” but I’ve been his wife for 22 years, and I know him. So I made the decision. I said, “We’re going to such and such a restaurant.” He nodded and (I know Mark will hate the way I say this) gladly submitted. (another grin)
If we were complementarians, would this be considered to be usurping his authority?
Or how about this: Supposing he comes home from school with a high fever and a cough. Suppose I take one look at him, lead him to the couch, press him down upon it, cover him with a blanket, and then go get medicine and a glass of water, hold them out and say, “Take this!” Am I usurping his authority? When he takes those pills, I’d call that “submission.” What would a complementarian call it?