https://bit.ly/3QIZJyO https://bit.ly/3S0HR3G https://bit.ly/3B8wpw1 https://bit.ly/3ByMuwq https://bit.ly/3BApIEg https://bit.ly/3QCDkTF https://bit.ly/3QCtGR5 https://bit.ly/3BbQHor Knowing when to plant does not always require an almanac One of the BIG mistakes that opponents of taking women in hand have made is in the assumption that the authority of men emanates from a single religious text or even cluster of similar religions. The practice is much older. It helps to think of biblical admonitions on patriarchal authority as a kind of old American-style farmer's almanac that includes planting tables. One farmer faithfully believes the almanac and plants his seeds according to the table. Another farmer does not own an almanac and believes them to be a waste of good money. Nevertheless, this farmer knows the local climate and the soil of his land. He plants his seeds when he senses the time is right. Obviously, when both farmers plant their seeds within a few days of each other, the existence of the almanac only serves to provide assurance to the first farmer. Whether or not the almanac existed does not change the rhythm of life. So it is with two husbands. One believes that God has given him authority over his wife and exercises it. He can point to chapter and verse to justify his decision. The other husband is of a different turn of mind. Having watched other marriages come and go, he senses that the time has come and takes his wife in hand with the same surety as the first. Much the same thing can be said of two women. One, a godly woman, searches her Bible and believes that her husband should take her in hand. Another, though unchurched, feels herself straying from her husband and knows that decisive action on his part is necessary to preserve her marriage.