On my way to drop off my son at school during morning rush hour, I was the first in line at the red light on the busy four lane road. Cars were whizzing by through the intersection when it dawned on me that I and my fellow drivers were all submitting to the red light.

As a culture, we tend to abhor the idea of submission, believing it to be degrading. Yet here we all were clearly and willingly submitting to the dangling rectangles lifted above us by an impersonal authority figure. Did any of us feel insecure or inferior in that moment due to our submission? Highly doubtful. Why did we readily accept this public act of submission?

We would be incredibly foolish to not submit to that red light, and we fully understood that reality. The person who put up that red light does not know me, and yet I was completely willing to obey that person via that red light for my own protection and for the sake of order. I was not inferior to the red light. I was not inferior to the person who ordered for the red light to be erected. And I understood that completely. I did not question if the person who put up the red light loved me. I submitted because I wanted to be protected from having a car slam into me and I wanted my son to arrive safely at school. I fully understood submission was for my good and the good of those around me. When the light turned green, I continued to submit to the dangling rectangle above me by pressing the gas pedal and moving my vehicle through the intersection and proceeding on my merry way now deep in thought about the topic of submission.

Submission is one of the themes of I Peter, and consequently has been on my mind frequently over the last few weeks as our church is preaching through it. In that particular book, God commands us to submit to government, employers, husbands, and church elders. (I Peter 2:13-3:6; 5:5) Why are we so resistant to submission?

Part of the issue is a lack of trust and understanding.

Even willingly submitting to a red light has its limits. Several years ago when my husband and I were in Yosemite National Park in California, we came upon a red light in the middle of nowhere as we were driving on a scenic two lane road. There was literally no other cars visible anywhere. Yet, being the submissive people we are, we stopped. For a time. Seconds ticked by extremely slowly. Then incredibly long minutes. Still we had seen no cars. What in the world was going on? Clearly this must be a malfunctioning red light or definitely not one that needed to be heeded. Someone obviously must have forgotten to turn it off or remove it.

My husband was itching to proceed. The road did a 90 degree turn to the left, crossed a short one lane bridge over the river, and then did a 90 degree turn to the right. Apparently, the red light must be for safely crossing the one lane bridge. My husband was all done waiting since we could certainly maneuver safely across the extremely short bridge. Being the rule follower I am, I still felt hesitant. However, I simultaneously felt ridiculous continuing to wait without an end in sight. Against my feeble protest (my wrestle with submission in the moment was on more than one front), my husband confidently drove across the bridge and then turned 90 degrees right with the road.

Ahead of us the road continued to be solely one lane, which is a fact we had been unaware of while on the other side of the river contemplating our life choices. On our left was a mountain side straight up. On our right was a guard rail and then a slope down to the river. The road had a bend that unfortunately prevented us from perceiving how long this one lane situation continued.

The dawning of understanding and fully trusting the red light occurred when the first car approached from the other direction with a line of vehicles trailing behind it. Not cool. Very not cool. We were trapped. My husband squeezed over to the right as close as he could to the guardrail to allow the incredibly long line of vehicles, some of which were quite large, to squeeze past us. Full of embarrassment and shame, I tried to avoid the peering eyes of every passersby as I endured the humiliation of insubordination.

The five-minute red light in the middle of nowhere existed to protect us and provide order just like the one at the busy four lane intersection during rush hour. The only difference was the understanding and trust of the one told to submit.

Could we stop listening to the enemy’s lie trying to convince us submission communicates inferiority? Every single day we submit to red lights without it affecting our ego. If we are willing to submit to red lights, can we not also submit to government in other areas, and our bosses, husbands, and church elders?

Our choice to submit is ultimately about trust as proven by the red light at Yosemite.

Proverbs 3:5 comes to mind. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” How much heartache would we avoid if we trusted our Ultimate Authority when He tells us to submit to certain fellow humans who have been given a measure of limited authority?

This post is by no means an exhaustive look at the complex application of submission. My current aim is simply to restore dignity to the concept of submission, giving you something to ponder the next time you obediently sit at a red light.