The vocal group DaVinci’s Notebook, known in contemporary a cappella circles for their musical parodies, once recorded a number entitled “Hot Soup.” In this comical song, the group lists any number of activities one can perform if so inclined — “You can whistle a tune; buy a balloon; you can even eat a bagel with a silver spoon...” — before coming back to the repeated refrain, “...but you just can’t eat hot soup with your bare hands.” The point of the song is crystal clear by the time the singers arrive at the bridge: “Don’t worry about the things that you ought not to; you better concentrate on doing the things you can.”

We don’t like to be told “no.” In our minds, we ought to be able to do whatever we please, and we get riled when anyone presumes to tell us, “You can’t do that.” But as the abovementioned song humorously illustrates, there are things in life that we just shouldn’t attempt to do — like eat hot soup with our bare hands.

When it comes to matters of faith and practice, people just can’t resist trying to eat hot soup with their fingers. When God’s word tells them to do something, their first response is, “I don’t want to do it that way. Why can’t I do this instead?” Or, conversely, when the Scriptures forbid something, they reply, “But I want to do it anyway! Who is God to tell me I can’t?”

Take, for example, the inspired words of 1 Timothy 2:11-12: “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” That reads plainly, doesn’t it? Yet we have many women today who say, “But I want to do it anyway!” Thus the movement that would place women as teachers and preachers in assemblies where men are present, despite the Lord’s prohibition.

Those who complain about the Scriptures placing this limitation on the service of women usually ignore the fact that there are numerous ways that women can exercise their God-given talents in the Lord’s work. Older women should be teachers of the younger (Titus 2:3-4), who in turn have responsibility to be positive influences on their husbands and children (Titus 2:4-5; 1 Peter 3:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:15). The proverbial description of a godly woman paints a picture of industriousness, charity, and righteous example not only in her own home, but in the community at large (Proverbs 31:10-31). The New Testament names several women who served in capacities other than in public worship, including Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3, 26; Romans 16:3-5), Phoebe (Romans 16:1-2), Tabitha (Acts 9:36-43), Mary (Romans 16:6), Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis (Romans 16:12).

Despite all these, some still want to stick their fingers into hot soup. It’s the same attitude expressed by Jesus’ disciples when He presented His teaching on marriage (Matthew 19:3-12). Jesus said, “Whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But His disciples responded in horror: “If such is the case with a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.” In other words, if they couldn’t do what they wanted — divorce and marry for any cause — they wanted nothing to do with the process at all. To which Jesus replied, “All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given.” The Lord understood that, no matter what He commanded, some would be determined to put their bare hands in hot soup.