Ephesians 5:22
Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
As christian wives, we have a God appointed task of helping and submitting to our husband. This task is broken into the following;
- Love: Titus 2:4 says that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. The truth is that it is easier to submit to someone who you love. it is not only the duty of the husband to love but the wife also.
- Respect: Ephesians 5:33 says wives should reverence their husbands. The dictionary defines reverence to mean ‘great respect and deep respect’. Synonyms include high esteem, high regard, great respect, to reverence is also seen as to have deep respect, to hold in high regard, to cherish, treasure, to have a high opinion of and think highly of. Looking at these words makes me ask, are we as wives being faithful to the command of the Lord? What thoughts goes on in our mind concerning our husbands? Do we hold them in high regard. I believe it is easier to submit (be subject to, accept the authority of, obey, follow the lead of, fit into the plans of) to our husbands when we have high regard/approve of/think highly of/cherish/look up to/think much of … our husbands. Read 1 Peter 3:1-2. This passage brings out the need for wives to adopt a particular way of life that is approved of our husbands and of the Lord. I believe that if we love God as we say we do, we will obey His words and one of them is for us to REVERENCE our husbands.
- Assistance: Gen. 2:18. As wives we are created to help our husbands. In Gen. 2:18, we find that the purpose for which God made us as wives is to be a help suitable for our husbands. Are we living with this in mind? Are we helping our husbands? Can our husbands say that their lives have been better since they married us? This is a godly purpose. For some of us who are looking for ways to be fulfilled in life and do the will of God, let’s begin with this little task of assisting and being the helper suitable for our husbands. Other things will surely follow.
- Purity: Titus 2:5 – to be self-controlled, pure, busy at home, good, being subject to their own husbands, in order that the word of God may not be slandered. Purity is a vital part of being a wife. A wife should be pure physically, spiritually, mentally, and in all things. We owe our husbands our purity.
- Submissiveness: 1 Peter 3:5 – ‘After all, this is how holy women who had confidence in God expressed their beauty in the past. They placed themselves under their husbands’ authority’ From this passage we can say that submissiveness is a make up wives need to put on. In these days when we see women being transformed just by the make up they way, it is obvious that make up can transform the look of a person completely. In the same manner, we are called as christian wives to wear the adornment , make up of submissiveness. Being submissive entails: avoiding upsetting our husbands, not wanting to hurt our husbands, yielding to their plans and authority, accepting the blame for peace to reign, not breaking our husbands trust, working hard for our husbands, aware of our husbands needs, and much more