submission

I have a friend who I recently directed into the practice of submission. Understand that there is great trust here, and so this is risky stuff. I said, "I want you to do whatever I tell you to do." He was trying to quit smoking again, and I sensed that he was truly serious about it. So I asked him, "Will you do whatever I say?" Amazingly, he agreed, so I told him that for every cigarette he smoked, he would have to pay me $25. He was already in, but this took him by surprise, I think.

Anyway, it is five days later and he doesn't owe me a dime. He's feeling this amazing freedom. Of course I would have made him pay me (I would eventually give it back to him). I still will make him pay if he takes it back up before the end of the week. We'll make the agreement again until he no longer struggles with it. But here is this guy who is practicing submission without knowing it, and he's finding freedom in it. Major renovation is going on in this guy. I'm really happy to see what the Spirit is doing in his life.

As I see this, I am sensing the need for me to practice submission. I have been doing this at work over the past eight months or so, and I find it changing my attitude toward people. But I still have some real pride/insecurity/commitment issues to sort out. I think the practices of submission, secrecy, and service will be important in the coming months. They should get at some of the junk that's been coming up in my recent entries.