Respect begets respect. Respect in marriage is the key to fulfilling
relationships and well-bred, considerate children. It may sound rather
repetitious and stale, but when there’s respect in a marriage, the
integrity of marriage as an institution remains intact. What society
needs is the dignity of every man and woman and child multiplied a
million times over. If people respected each other and the property of
their neighbors, there wouldn’t be any crime. And we would even dare
say that if there was respect in marriage, there probably wouldn’t be
anydivorce.
Be a helper to your husband. While all of us are
called to be helpers to others, the Bible places a special emphasis on
this responsibility for wives. Genesis tells us that God realized it
wasn't good for man to be alone, and that He decided to make a "helper
suitable for him" (Gen. 2:18). It is interesting to note that the Hebrew
meaning of the word helper in this passage is found hereafter
in the Bible to refer only to God as He helps us. The fact that this
same word is applied to a wife signifies that we women have been given
tremendous power for good in our husbands' lives. God has designed wives
to help their husbands become all that God intends for them to be.
#2: Respect your husband. In Ephesians 5:33, Paul
says, " … the wife must respect her husband." When you respect your
husband you reverence him, notice him, regard him, honor him, prefer
him, and esteem him. It means valuing his opinion, admiring his wisdom
and character, appreciating his commitment to you, and considering his
needs and values.Our husbands have many needs. The macho man who is self-contained, independent, and invulnerable is a myth. One day Dennis gave me a list of what he considered to be some of the primary needs most men have:
- Self-confidence in his personhood as a man.
- To be listened to
- Companionship
- To be needed
#3: Love your husband. Titus 2:4 calls for wives "to love their husbands." A good description of the kind of love your husband needs is "unconditional acceptance." In other words, accept your husband just as he is—an imperfect person.
Love also means being committed to a mutually fulfilling sexual relationship. I realize there is a whole lot more to love than sex, but we are looking at how to fulfill God's command to love our husbands. Therefore, we must look at love from their perspective, not just our own.
Surveys show that sex is one of a man's most important needs—if not the most important. When a wife resists intimacy, is uninterested, or is only passively interested, her husband may feel rejection. It will cut at his self-image, tear at him to the very center of his being, and create isolation.
My husband's sexual needs should be more important and higher on my priority list than menus, housework, projects, activities, and even the children. It does not mean that I should think about sex all day and every day, but it does mean that I find ways to remember my husband and his needs. It means I save some of my energy for him. It keeps me from being selfish and living only for my own needs and wants. Maintaining that focus helps me defeat isolation in our marriage.
#4: "Submit" to the leadership of your husband. Just mention the word "submission," and many women immediately become angry and even hostile. This controversial concept has been highly debated and misunderstood.
Some husbands and wives actually believe submission indicates that women are inferior to men in some way. I have known women who think that if they submit they will lose their identity and become "non-persons." Others fear (some with good reason) that submission leads to being used or abused.
Another misconception is that submission means blind obedience on the part of the woman. She can give no input to her husband, question nothing, and only stay obediently barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.
What does God have in mind? Here are two passages from Scripture:
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them (Colossians 3:18-19).
Wives,
be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the
head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself
being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so
also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself
up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the
washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the
church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing;
but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love
their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves
himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and
cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are
members of His body(Ephesians 5:22-30).
These
Scriptures make it clear that a wife should submit voluntarily to her
husband's sensitive and loving leadership. Therefore, as I voluntarily
submit to my husband, I am completing him. I am helping him fulfill his
responsibilities, and I am helping him become the man, the husband, and
the leader God intended him to be.
Building oneness in marriage works best when both partners choose to
fulfill their responsibilities voluntarily, with no pressure or
coercion. To become the servant-leader God has commanded him to be,
Dennis needs my gracious respect and submission. And when Dennis loves
me the way he is commanded to, I can more easily submit myself to that
leadership.I do this with an attitude of entrusting myself to God. In one of his letters, Peter told us that even though Jesus suffered terrible pain and insults, He did not retaliate "but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously" (1 Peter 2:23). When you entrust your life to the Father, it's much easier to be the wife of an imperfect man, particularly when you may have disagreements.
A special note: Some of you may live with abuse or in excessively unhealthy and destructive conditions in your marriage. At times, it may be inappropriate or even life-threatening for you to apply unquestioningly the principles of submission. For example, if you are being physically or verbally abused, you may need to take steps to protect yourself and your children. You may need to say to your husband, "I love you, but enough is enough." If you are in that situation, please discerningly seek out your pastor or someone wise who has been trained to help with your specific issue.
Loving, forgiving, and submitting do not mean that you become a doormat or indefinitely tolerate significantly destructive behavior.