Husband & Wife

HUSBANDS 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.

Often I hesitate to write about biblical topics of contention or matters relating to today’s ‘interest groups’. There are issues that even the best theological minds and great leaders are unable to settle. I just watched a report on CNN about the momentous gathering of the Anglican leaders in UK to discuss about ‘the gay and women bishops!’ How would the Church of Jesus Christ and His followers seek answers to these contentious and vexing issues without fighting and division?

Let us take for instance today’s scriptural injunction: “Husbands, be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner”. Wives will agree to most of what the apostle Peter said. Husbands must be considerate to the wives. They must respect them. They must consider them as co-heirs of the gift of life.

But today, no woman wants men to consider her as the weaker sex or as more delicate! Women have proved their ability in education, sports, business and even as astronauts. How then should the husbands consider their wives and treat them?

It is a pity that Christians have no qualms in accepting the world’s changing standards of the society. Yet a billon Muslims are proud to say that ‘they are the people of the Book and they do not amend their Koran or its teachings to suit the society! Those who do will be put to death as heretics. We Christians too are ‘the people of the Book!’ But every generation of Christians is fretting to amend the precepts of the Bible to suit the changing standards of the society! One wonders why it is ‘these liberals’ (I want to be gracious and not call them ‘heretics’) do not start a new religion, have their own scriptures and leave us and our Bible alone!

The biblical injunction to husbands and wives are not only important to them but the whole family. If their relationship is not in total obedience to God’s Word, the lives of the children and other family members too will shattered. Just because your wife is stronger, wiser, more qualified, holds a job much higher than yours and gets ten times your salary, it is foolish to discard the biblical injunction to ‘treat your wife with respect as the weaker partner’. It would be disastrous for her to feel otherwise and show it in her attitude, inviting from you a careless and harsh attitude and rough treatment!

Dear married believer, it would be the beginning of the end of a biblical ‘husband and wife relationship’. It would destroy your prayer together and with your children. And of course, God who sees the disunity and the animosity wouldn’t care much to answer, even if you ‘manage to pray together’. Sadly, your individual prayer too will be hindered because of the lack of love, inconsideration, jealousy and strife that fills your life.

Pray and practise with me: Dear Lord, teach me to take seriously Your Word, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5.18-24). Amen.