Truth & Mercy

Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; bind them about thy neck, write them upon the tablet of thine heart. 

So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:3-4 21st Century King James Version (KJ21)

This verse was brought to my attention via a post in a group I am a member of on Fetlife. It resonated and so I dwelled there with it for a while and read what others had said about it. One had used it in a collaring ritual with his submissive, another found historical references to relate to the Dominant/submissive dynamic, others saw no connection. I, being the lover of lexis that I am, wanted to first explore the meaning of these two oh so important words that the Bible says I should bear on my neck and my heart. 
mer·cy

 /ˈmərsē/ noun
mercies, plural

1. Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm

- the boy was screaming and begging for mercy

- the mercies of God

2. An event to be grateful for, esp. because its occurrence prevents something unpleasant or provides relief from suffering

- his death was in a way a mercy

3. (esp. of a journey or mission) Performed out of a desire to relieve suffering; motivated by compassion

- mercy missions to refugees caught up in the fighting 

truth

 /trooTH/ noun
truths, plural

1. The quality or state of being true

- he had to accept the truth of her accusation

2. That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality

- tell me the truth

- she found out the truth about him

3. A fact or belief that is accepted as true

- the emergence of scientific truths

- the fundamental truths about mankind 

Thank you, Google! I love the diction in this scripture. To take these and bind them about my neck and write them upon the document that is my heart means so much. It is one thing to hold things in one’s heart and keep them dear, but with mercy and truth, to make them a part of my heart, not just in it. To not hide them only inside, but to wear them proudly on my neck and let all know that these claim me and that I claim them. Mercy; this is compassion, forgiveness, kindness, understanding, benevolence. Truth; this is fact, honesty, sincerity, genuineness, certainty, uprightness. I am to not only accept them and give them in their entirety. I am to make them a part of who and what I am and how others see me. 

Ironically, E once screen-named himself these two words. Truth and Mercy… So this verse is just made a bit dearer to me.

Exploring My Submission: Journaling Exercise #14

 Does religion have any bearing on your decision to submit? If not, are you familiar with religious based submission and do you view it as similar to other types of submission or dissimilar?

Yes, in its way, my faith does influence my submission. I wouldn’t call my method of submission a ‘biblical submission’ but God’s word does dictate my actions. He is my Master. No other will be addressed as such. I am a Christian. I consider myself nondenominational, but I am a follower of Christ. Does that mean I’m perfect? Absolutely not, whoever came up with the idea that Christians are supposed to be perfect needed a reality check.

I struggle with my submission sometimes. I struggled with living my faith like I was told I was supposed to more. I grew up in and still attend a Baptist church yet I agree with very little that is taught there. However, my pastor preached a sermon recently on the mind of Christ and I was overwhelmed. I thought, FINALLY. This is something worth discussing. His three points were Submission, Service, and Sacrifice. I FELT that sermon as I have felt so few. And yet, the people around me heard the same words and were unaffected, unaltered. Not even a stoic “amen”. I wasn’t expecting a sudden conversion to the more enthusiastic Pentacostal, but seriously? Why is the topic of submission so overlooked?

I am aware that there must be leaders if there are to be followers, but when all try to lead… it becomes a great big mess. Some people are called to it. Others, like myself, are called to submission. I know my place, I cherish it now that I’ve found it. I can feel when I am out of it. I don’t believe that every Christian is called to follow the path of submission, but it is a much overlooked one. The meaning of “submit” has been shoved under the rug and lost in churches such as mine, where it should be cherished just as much as the leaders of the church are.

There can be no true equality in any situation. Yes, we have similar opportunities, but in any relationship, be it friendship, corporate, or evangelical, there will be a situation of the leader and the lead. It may shift. It may not. But it will happen.

I feel that the submissive spirit is frowned upon. Utterly unwelcome. It saddens me to see people cringe when they hear “I am a slave of Christ” oooh slave.. slaves have no choices, we have choices.. let’s use “servant” instead.. yeah.. UGH!!!! Slave. A willing slave.

Maybe it’s my experience as a submissive in the BDSM world that gives me such a unique view of this, but it’s a fierce neglect where I am and it breaks my heart that my efforts to correct it have fallen flat.

Ok… rant over. Anyway. Yes. Obviously my faith/religion/whateveryouchoosetocallit influences my submission. To each their own.

Made Perfect Through Weakness

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

 2 Corinthians 12:9

English Standard Version Anglicised (ESVUK)

This scripture was used in the sermon at my church on Sunday. I know I know. It's the BIBLE and I'm talking church and Sundays... But there's more to this than just the traditional yehyehing of a preacher. 

 I found it so strangely appropriate because I had just been focusing on grace and what that word meant to me and how I wanted to be a person full of grace (see previous post) in all its forms. The quote here "My grace is sufficient for you" doesn't just speak for the grace of God, though that definitely applies. As a submissive, this speaks to me of my Dominant as well. His grace, in all its forms, should be enough for me. Though God's grace is far beyond that of E's (sorry, Sir.. lol) I serve them both. 

I've said, since I returned to BDSM with an intent to keep my Christianity in tact, that I may submit to a man, but I will never call him Master, for I am slave only to Christ. I see Christianity through different eyes because of my submission just as I see everything else just a shade differently because of it (hence the name of my blog). 

The next portion of the quote "for my power is made perfect in weakness." Isn't is always? It may be more obvious to those of us in what are termed "power exchange" relationships, but if there was not weakness, what use would power be? Understanding that I, with all my failings, make evident the power of those I serve is an humbling thing. 

But the next sentence covers that "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power.... may rest upon me." In order to make that power more evident to others, I'll gladly display the weaknesses and vulnerabilities and flaws and imperfections that I have so that the authority of those I serve may be seen by those around me. That doesn't mean I won't keep working to correct them, but I'm not going to slather them over with a layer of concealer and hope no one sees.