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Husbands,
in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with
respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of
life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. (1 Peter 3:7 NIV)
What
does the above scripture mean? This scripture does not mean “weaker partner” in
the sense of moral or intellectual ability, but in physical ability. What is
Peter trying to teach to husbands? I think Peter is telling husbands to honor
and respect their wives by protecting them against outside influences and
criminal abuses. If a husband is a man of God he will protect his wife from
harm.
Can you
beat your husband in an arm wrestle? Most likely not. Back in Peter’s days when
a wife was not protected by her husband she was taken advantage of in every
which way. She was vulnerable to being attacked and abused physically by
ungodly men. Some women were even financially taken advantage of because men
did not believe a woman should be in charge of finances, even if she were
single.
Let’s
compare those days to these days. A woman’s life may be a bit easier today than
it used to be back in the bible days, but women are still very much vulnerable
to criminal attack and physical abuses just because she won’t let her man
protect her. More and more women are getting beaten, raped, and murdered
because they have a rebellious attitude toward being protected by their men.
Statistics
also show that much of the poverty in this world is from single mothers trying
to eke out a living for themselves and children. Many of them don’t have the
money to get an education and that leaves them working, usually factory and
minimum wage jobs to support a family. So nothing has changed.
Oh yes,
more women are climbing up the corporate ladder than ever before, and more
women who once had a man supporting them, are getting divorced and raising
children on their own and both of these types are still getting raped,
manhandled, manipulated, beaten and murdered. So what has changed?
I think
that if a husband were allowed to protect and care for his wife the way that is
instinctive for him according to his masculine and protective abilities then he
would do it. But unfortunately, many wives believe they are not in control when
their husband protects them in this way. They want to go out at night when it
is dark, they want to travel alone, and they want to do all the things that men
do, and without their man beside them.
In the
above scripture, Peter is implying, if the husband does not take care of his
wife properly by protecting her from outside influences and other maltreatments
and abuses of society, then his prayers for himself and family may become
hindered.
God
wants us to live righteously by having a right relationship with Him first. So
the bottom line is a husband is to submit to God’s will first, so he can
respect and care for his wife properly so his prayers for his family will not
be hindered and his relationship with God will not suffer.
Husbands
treat your wives with RESPECT as the weaker partner in the area of protection
and headship. Wives, let your husband be your man and let him lead the way God
instructs him to. A devoted husband will not divorce is wife and leave her
unprotected, and a devoted wife will let her husband protect her.
Angie Lewis has written three books on how to have a happy marriage. She has just finished her fourth book THE ALCOHOLISM TRAP: Understanding Why You Drink and What You Can Do To Achieve Total Sobriety.
For more information about this book and marriage books, please visit: http://www.heavenministries.com
To see book previews, please visit: http://stores.lulu.com/angielewis
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