Two left feet

If you can appreciate ballroom dancing, it is a very beautiful thing. Especially when you see it done by the experts (no offence, Dancing With the Stars): The couple glides gracefully and seemingly effortlessly across the floor, in sync with each step their partner makes: one leading, one following and each participating to create a picture of grace.
From there we turn to a ballroom dance 101 at the local community college: awkward, frustrated couples...Realizing that the dance is much harder than it looks. "You stopped on my foot! ...You aren't following me! ...You did that all wrong!" Not quite what they signed up for.

Have you ever watched that elderly couple...You know, the ones who still hold hands... He still opens the door for her and she still looks at him with admiration. It looks so simple...So natural. The truth is, it is anything but simple. Throw two sinful people together, tell one to submit, the other to love and (without the grace of God) you get a recipe for sore feet.

The marriage relationship is anything but natural for us to succumb to. It takes practice; but when it is done well, it becomes a beautiful dance: one leading, the other following...Gliding through life together.

As the saying goes: "It takes two to tango."
Submission without love: Ah...The perfect set-up for the stereotypical male-chauvinist. The "little woman" runs around at the command of her husband who shows little respect or love for her. He loves to quote the verse: "Wives submit to your husband"

Love without submission: modern-day feminism leaking quickly into Christian marriages. Do the dishes, take care of the kid; "who cares if you have been at work all day, I have been here...You don't know how hard that is!" She doesn't even have to say anything. One look and her husband knows she means business. She loves to quote the verse: "Husbands love your wives."

Submission and Love: Perfect beautiful order. Submission and love, leadership and trust, man and wife. Neither is quoting verses to the other person reminding them of their duty; they are too concerned with the command given to themselves: the wife to submit and the husband to love. With each person focused on their own part, they find that together, they make up a beautiful dance: the beautiful dance called the Christian Marriage.

Related Tags: Ballroom Dancing, Dancing with the stars, marriage, tango, submission, love, respect