The Art of Submission
Do you fear going to a car dealership and leaving with the feeling of being run over by the car you just bought? It’s a common feeling, and it’s awful. The only good part about being run over by your new 2022 Mazda MX-5 is the worm’s-eye view of that dandy undercoating you just got talked into.
Everyone fears getting a bad deal on a car transaction, at the dealership, online, at an auction house, or between private parties. Even if you’re confident that your knowledge will spare you from a rotten deal, you’re using your knowledge as a hedge against that fear. That’s not a bad strategy. But there may be a better one.
In his first Epistle, Peter spends five chapters describing what modern theologians call “Christian Living,” or the answer to the question nearly everyone asks after coming to believe in Jesus: “So, now what?” Now, after the life-altering news that an eternal God knows you absolutely and loves you infinitely, how are you supposed to handle yourself in a marital relationship? Or as a member in a church with all kinds of people? Or at a car dealership?
Peter prescribes submission. He suggests living “such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12). He suggests this unusual act of submission in unusual settings, like between spouses, who usually find it much easier to angle for power. Or between slaves (or servants) and their masters. He would probably prescribe an attitude of submission when buying a car at a car dealership, the most unusual setting of all, and the last place someone would want to be submissive.
Here’s what that looks like: “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8). Harmony by definition includes two voices working together, like a transaction. Sympathy evokes an understanding of the other person’s perspective. Brotherly love means a mutuality and shared identity. Compassion motivates a person to desire the best for someone else. And humility is the deferential attitude that makes all of this possible.
So you’ve read and re-read 1 Peter and you’re ready to be submissive during a car purchase. Great! But what if the salesperson hasn’t read 1 Peter? What if they take advantage of your kindness? This fear is addressed throughout 1 Peter: “Even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.’ [Isaiah 8:12] But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:14-16). God gives you hope that your act of submission opens up your heart to a goodness that’s greater than the temporary thrill of winning an argument at the expense of someone else’s happiness. It’s a goodness that you can’t win, anyway, because it was won for you by “the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand,” and get ready for the slow clap, “with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” (1 Peter 3:21-22)
Submission at the car dealership doesn’t mean paying way over MSRP for undercoating, embroidered hats, extended warranties for your extended warranties, and stuff you don’t need, because God favors justice and good stewardship. It doesn’t mean walking in and saying, “I’m a loser and I’ll gladly pay what you need so you’ll be happy,” because that’s humiliation, not humility. It means walking in with the hope that all things are in submission to God. In other words, it’s just another day in your new life. It’s just “Christian Living.”
During the intervals between talking to a salesperson and waiting for them to come back from “speaking with their manager,” check out the lifestyle magazines. Nearly every major automaker has one, and they’re fascinating pieces of marketing collateral. Mazda’s magazine, “Zoom Zoom,” frequently features staff writers taking the folding-hardtop MX-5 RF to some of the most picturesque locations in the world. Sometimes the RF is shown with its top in place (which, as Mazda would like to remind you, takes just 13 seconds), receiving buckets of rain or snow, because the submission within “Christian Living” also includes submitting to the elements.
