But when we apply the notion of agape to finite contexts, the
subjection of novelty to fundamental continuity can not be appealed to
without admitting a radical appeal to a context far removed from cosmic creation.
Your husband will answer to God, and you must answer to God for how you respond to your husband, even when he causes you to suffer.Just as we are to obey government in every ordinance, and servants are to obey their masters, even the ones who are abusive and surly, «likewise, ye wives, be in
subjection to your own husbands»... You can freely call your husband «lord» when you know that you are addressing the one who put him in charge and asked you to suffer at your husband's hands just as our Lord suffered at the hands of unjust authorities... When you endure evil and railing
without returning it, you receive a blessing, not just as a martyr, but as one who worships God.»
With the attitude that obedience is
subjection to a formal authority to which the self can be subordinated
without being essentially obedient, a neutral position is possible.