It’s my Marriage Moment again. Each week I am sharing a thought about marriage, to help encourage, uplift and perhaps help folks to reconsider their idea of what marriage is and is not.
I recently saw a Yahoo feed that said that the new trend in engagments is for the woman to give the man an engagement ring, instead of waiting around for him to ask her. I sort of chuckled to myself as I thought ‘That figures.’
I really do not find humor in this latest “Trend.” To me, it figures because for about 1/2 the past century women have been going around touting their “Rights.” Women have claimed that they are equal with men. Women have forcefully been asserting themselves into every area of a man’s life. It started out with women taking jobs outside the home. I do realize that women on occasion need to take jobs in order to support their families. There are times when I understand this need. However I do not think it is the plan that God intended. I believe that God intends for the wife to busy in the home, loving and caring for their children. (See Titus 2).
Then the woman began to demand that the husband be more helpful around the house, afterall, if she was equally working outside the home it only was reasonable that he equally work inside the home. I’ve seen a trend over the past 10-15 years where, the woman becomes not only the chief bread winner but the only bread winner. The man is becoming the stay at home dad. The woman has taken the financial authority completely out of his hands and placed it in her own.
Now women are taking the place of man in deciding who, when and how they will get engaged. That is why I thought “That figures.”
You see, this “trend” started a long time ago. Longer in fact than you are probably imagining.
Genesis 3:6&7
“6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”
It was the woman who first chose to sin, and give the fruit to her husband. She led him, not the other way around. God cursed both Adam and Eve because of their sin, but let’s take a look at Eve’s curse.
Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said:
“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”
God declared right from the beginning, that woman shall desire her husband. I see this as a desire to be in place of her husband, but that he (the husband) is to have rule over her.
In the New Testament Scripture, we are told that the husband is the head of the wife. So often I hear women balk at this passage. I hear women try to say that sumbit doesn’t mean “obey” it means “work in conjunction with.” Ladies! Wake up. We are told to submit to the authority of our husbands, for he his our HEAD. We submit to him just as we submit to Christ as the head of the Church. If you don’t submit to your husband are you also not willing to submit to Christ?
Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
This passage goes on to say that the husband must also submit, but not to the wife, rather to Christ for Christ is the head of man. If our husbands are faithful followers of Christ, then they are submitting to His will. If then, they submit to His will and we are submitting to the will of our husbands then we are right in subjection to Christ.
Sadly, women are taking the authority away from the husbands. They are taking it for themselves. I suggest if you want truly strong marriages, then give back to your husband what is his RIGHT. The authority in the home. Honor him by submitting to his authority and trust that he will lead you in the direction that Christ is leading him.
Oh dear ladies, this is not easy because it means letting go of our selfish desire to be in control. But, when we realize the greater responsibility lies with the husband to lead and protect the wife as Christ leads and protects the church, then we can see that his role is a heavier weight to bear. He needs from us our loving support, not our bickering, nagging and selfish desire to rule over him.
Would you like to join me by adding your own Marriage Moment?
- Go to your blog, write your post, about anything that Encourages Marriage.
- Copy the Marriage Moment Button Below, add it to your blog page or post.
- Click the inlinkz Tool Below and Follow the Instructions.
- Offer encouragement to the link just before your own.
- Happy Marriage Everyone!
