Chapter 17

            The switch in planes had gone well in England.  George had commented to Juanita on Aaron on how efficient the English flight attendants were and their propensity to offer tea rather than coffee.  This last leg of the journey into Africa was scheduled to last another seven hours.  The seats were tightly crammed together and all the sitting was taking its toll on their backs and bottoms.  Still time seemed to pass faster when they talked or slept.  So the four talked.

            “Charles” Juanita began “I didn’t mean to pry but is it true that you were considering marrying that Nigerian girl we heard about?

            Charles sighed as he began his answer.  “First of all she is no little girl,” he explained.  “She is thirty five years old.  She has a little boy about six who was born out of wedlock, and she is going to school at the University and working and struggling to make ends meet.” he paused and bit down on his bottom lip, considering carefully how much he should reveal.  “In my culture, there is a tendency to stay within one’s own tribe with the nation and it is rare to see someone marry one from another entirely different nation; but God frees us from our own culture and tradition as we go on in Him.  I’ve seen her and talked with her a number of times.  I don’t know for sure that God would have me marry her.  I am still praying and waiting for his command.”  Charles stopped, considered saying more, and then thought better of it.

            “But . . . what about your wives in Kenya?” Juanita questioned unbelievingly.  “Wouldn’t they be upset to know that you’re considering adding yet another wife to your family?”

            Charles smiled, and considered how confusing this must be for a person with a Western Society world view.  “My wives know” he began shortly “that I am a servant of God and that I submit to Him the same way in which I expect them to submit to me.  Completely!”

            “Wow!  I know that’s scriptural,” George exclaimed, “but I haven’t ever seen any women do it in real practice.”

             “Well,” Charles explained, “I am not saying that my wives are always perfect in obedience, just as I’m sure we men sometimes fall short of perfect obedience; but we should all be striving to be like Christ, who said ‘I do all things that please the father.’”

             Aaron pulled out his pocket Bible and began flipping through the pages.  He finally stopped on a particular page and ran his finger down to the verse he was looking for.  “It says here in Ephesians 5:22-24” he prefaced before reading “’Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church and he is Savior of the body.  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing . . .’ we don’t really preach this in America.”  Aaron concluded.

             “Why not?”  Charles questioned, not that he didn’t know the answer, but rather he wanted others to verbalize it.

             “I guess if the truth be told” Aaron explained “we’re afraid of losing over half the congregation.”  He had known for a long time the truth of his statement but until now had never had the courage to verbalize it.  Now with his wife refusing to come and threatening divorce, he knew he had failed to put sufficient emphasis on verses like this one.

             “Yeah” George chimed in, “I think the women like it a lot better when we emphasize verse 21 and 24.  Read those, will you Aaron?” he suggested.

             “‘Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of the Lord.’”  Aaron read.

             “Women in America emphasize this because women’s liberation says they are equal to men and therefore it is a two way street.  But that verse is speaking to the brethren in general and not to husbands and wives.”  Charles explained.

             Aaron continued reading verse 25: “’Husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it.’”

             “On this passage of Scripture women say it shows that men ought to let women have their way if they love them” George interjected.

             “But that is not what it is saying” Charles pointed out.  “We need to be tender, loving, caring, providing and protecting, but it doesn’t mean that women should rule over us!”

             Juanita eased her chair back and sat quietly, she felt -- and was -- out numbered by the men.  She wanted to defend her sisters and yet also realized that any attempt to do so would be futile.  She would wait to see if all this was just talk or were there women in the world, even in Africa, that would live out what the men were claiming was right.