Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-06-04
TIRE DUcY OF WIVES

Wives submit yourselves unto your own
usbsncs, as it is fit in the Lord. Colossians
iii; 2S.
Submit obviously means here to acqui-
csc in the authority of another, to defer
to another's opinion. The great apostle,
in his zeal to aid the members of the
early church to attain to the full stature
of perfection IN Jesus Christ, urged upon
them the claims Of home and the per-
Torrance Of the duties connected with
it. Submission seems to many persons to
be al act of servitude, q confession of
inferiority, and the feminine mind is
often much disturbed by the VOW of
obedience found in the marriage service.
That submission means quite different
thing from obedience is evident from the
context IN which children are admon-
ished to obey their parents. Obedience is
compliance with command. Submission
here evidently means to yield to the
wishes of another, to prefer another, to
accept as her own the fortune and life of
her husband, submit to his direction and
guidance in the Lord. When the hus-
bands wishes come in collision with her
duty to God, and her own best good, the
wishes must go to the wall. No wife is
required to submit to anything which
dIshonors her Creator Or herself.
The Bible speaks of man as the head
of the family, the provider for his own
household, and society holds him re-
ponsible for their welfare. 1t is fit
then that obedience and submits
sion should be paid to his just commands.
Of course, if the wife loved her husband
the most natural thing for her to do would
be to comply with his wishes, and to pro-
mote his happiness would be her su-
premest pleasure. But the young woman,
who before marriage remembered her low
er's highest word Or wish, after she be-
comes his wife often seems to think them
of the least possible consequence. Some
women seem to have married, as q
sort of speculation, to see how
much they could make out
of the business of marriage That the
vows they assumed meant anything Sc
rlous they neither thought or cared.
With an eye single to their own profits
they entered into the hottest earthly
partnership as business venture in
which their part of the capital consisted
of good looks and good clothes. That
such a marriage should prove unhappy
''goes without saying" Very few hon
est men could love and cherish woman
who possessed nothing else to recon-
mend her. Most men flatter themselves
that they are loved for their own sakes,
and that they are really chosen for "bet-
ter or worse, for richer or poorer" until
death do them part. But should the
worse or poorer come to the husband of
one of these calculating wives, he would
find his happiness disappear like a dis
solving view. She married him for
fine home, luxury and ease, and
if he fails to provide these
her speculation is unsuccessful, she is de-
frauded. The fretful exacting wife
makes sorry help meet for man. That
he has been harrassed or perplexed with
business cares, or professional labors all
day is no reason to her mind, why she
should not require his attention to all the
little jars in the domestic machinery or
her trials with the children. If he does
his best she is sure to express a prefer
ence for some other way, and if he plans
some pleasure for her, it is sure to fail.
The natural result of this treatment is to
make him indifferent AID careless of her
happiness. Said the husband of fret
full wife, 81 have tried for ten years to
please you, and have decided that the
game is not worth the candle" That a
scolding wife does not follow st. Paul's
counsel is forgone conclusion, and such
a wife needs thorough conversion to
make her a fit companion for any decent
man.
There are many other classes of wives
for whom the apostle preached. All
those who are dissatisfied, disappoint-
ed and unhappy. ALI who have
seen the fair promise of the morning of
their welded life fade away in the fierce
heats of after days. Of one truth all
wives may be assured, that if chickering's,