This Sunday, of course, brings us to the annual celebration of Valentine’s Day. This Sunday also doubles as our church’s marriage seminar, so marriage happens to have a spot in my mind right now.
The husband’s challenge? Well…seems as if a bunch of answers would fit, right?
How to get more time in the man cave, how to get full control of the remote, how to get his favorite meals.
Those would be punchlines.
Biblically, the husband’s challenge come straight out of I Peter 3:7:
Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
This verse follows six verses of instruction to wives. Six verses to one doesn’t seem fair, but the verse to husbands packs quite the punch.
Some things which bring the husband’s task into focus:
1. Live in an understanding way.
This command demonstrates action on the part of the husband. Husbands – take action to understand your wives. We have no chance to lead our wives without taking action to understand them. Their past, their present, their struggles, their perspectives, their gifts: know it and seek to lead them in response.
I’m not saying lead in a sense that everything should revolve around the wife. But this command is far from just doing whatever you want and demanding submission in a Biblical sense. Lead in a way that shows your leadership is not just about you. Show that your leadership is about both of you.
2. Showing honor.
Show honor. A woman deserves the honor of her husband. This comes in addition to “live in an understanding way”. Neither of these two commands seeks power or control. These commands seek the strength of a relationship and the welfare of another; they reflect grace, which God gives us freely anyhow.
When a husband shows honor and seeks understanding, God gets the glory. What other goal should marriage have anyhow?
3. Don’t hinder your prayers.
I’ll leave this at its word. It says our prayers are hindered if we fail. This makes sense. Inserting our own desires ahead of obedience can hinder our prayers anytime.
Think. Are you, as a husband, willing to lead your wife? Wives, are you willing to encourage and help your husband lead?
Act. Ask God for the grace to lead with great care and concern.