Husbands: Does Your Wife Feel Honored?

A lot of talk goes around “Wives Honoring Husbands” in Christian circles today. Laura recently mentioned 1 Peter 3:7 in a blog post and that got me to thinking. We husbands need to think about honoring our wives too. Peter said to “honor the woman as the weaker vessel…” What does that mean? Well, it really means a few things.

First, it means we are to be a provider for our family.  Some people are going to say, “Whoa! That guy is a chauvinist,” but hear me out. It doesn’t always mean monetarily. I know several couples where the wife is the primary financial provider and that works for them. I always joke with Laura that when she has that first best seller, I’m retiring and becoming her “manager.” The husband does need to provide several things that only he can provide though: spiritual authority, headship over the household, and a covering of prayer over the family.

Honoring your wife means helping her. I could put that sentence in font size 42. The first way that I spot a healthy marriage is not public affection or friendship; it’s a helping husband. So many couples divide up the household and parenting duties and never cross over. Dividing up duties is okay, even essential to a point, but we all need help sometimes. If you and your wife never fold laundry, put up dishes, or clean the house together, there might be a problem.

Finally, honoring your wife means publicly acknowledging her awesomeness. Guys, you know she’s pretty great and in very specific, unique ways. Make sure people know it. She is your teammate in the game of life. She is in the trenches, fighting to raise these hooligans into mature, functioning adults with you. She needs to know that you think she’s great, and not just in private. Men who put their wives down in public or don’t show any public admiration for their wives are sending bad or mixed messages. Show the world you love her. It’s as easy as saying, “Isn’t she great?”

I pray that your marriage is honoring on both sides. When both of you honor each other, both of you will want to make the effort to have a great marriage. Both Peter and Paul spoke about this when they discussed marriage. Honor is imperative for an extraordinary marriage.

~Howell

@G2WHubs