Submission (1): "No TV?"

Caleb and I visited a sister friend of mine the other day. She's single but unavailable, and we touched on the topic of submission as she's preparing herself to enter into marriage with this biblical mandate (The Lord bless her!). One question she asked me was, "Have you ever submitted to Andy on something that you didn't agree with him on?" It was a tricky question to answer since to submit to my husband would entail doing that something that I don't agree with him on in the first place. If I had agreed with him, then it would not call for submission. But as I thought on, Andy has never asked me to do something that was unbiblical, and so I told my friend no, not so much something that I didn't agree with him on, but more like something I didn't prefer at the time. Later, the topic of watching TV came up in our discussion and I used it as an example for this earlier topic...

The Dao home has not heard the sound of a TV for over two years now, and we are grateful for the blessings that the Lord brings as a result of it (I'll save these for another post). As a mother of a one-year-old at the time, having to be home alone with a little one all day, and having been raised in a culture where the TV set was an indispensable item in the household, I was not the most thrilled when Andy shared his conviction with me. "You mean not even the news for me, or the Berenstain Bears for Caleb?" I exclaimed. But trusting that the Lord has, in His infinite wisdom and love, placed Andy as the leader of this home, I submitted to Andy and asked God for strength and wisdom for my days.

This post is not about the good and bad of TV (or of the use of TV). Enough has been said. A friend has made some worthy comments in her post. And the four-volume series of David Wells is an excellent read according to Andy on how modernity has shaped our history, society, culture, and church! This Part-1 blog entry is just the first of many reflections I hope to share on the topic as I am learning it by the grace of God.