'Wives' quote taken out of Bible context

I am not a Southern Baptist or a supporter of Mike Huckabee, but I bristled when I read Raleigh Sutton's Jan. 23 letter sarcastically calling Huckabee "The Messiah" and stating, "The Southern Baptists are the worst, requiring that wives should be 'respectfully subservient to their husbands.'"

I believe Sutton is incorrectly referring to a requirement in the Bible, which is certainly not exclusive to Southern Baptists, from Ephesians 5:21-33. Wives are instructed there to "submit to your husbands," obey them, respect them, honor them.

This is frequently taken out of context, as the part of Scripture that immediately follows is often overlooked. That next part states "... and husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church." That is, make every sacrifice necessary, willingly putting aside your own interests in order to care and provide for your spouse.

The wise husband does not press his leadership role for advantage. He uses it just as Christ did, as an opportunity to serve.

If more elected officials, spouses, letter writers, neighbors, strangers and family members could only give that service mentality a try, this country would be a better place. And the world would more likely admire and readily follow our example.

Mike Kukovec

Hampshire