Wives Who Magnify and Glorify God

    Glorifying God is a wonderful way to live each day!

    Today, let's focus again on how we, as women, can declare God's greatness to ourselves and to the people we daily interact with. Specifically, we will look at the role of wives.

"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." (Ephesians 5:22 NKJV)

"Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord." (Colossians 3:18 NKJV)

"...be submissive to your own husbands..." (1 Peter 3:1 NKJV)

    Today, "submission" and being submissive is considered an ugly thing. It is frowned upon by women of the world as archaic and oppressive. Submission equates slavery, or so the world wants you to think, but God says that it is what a wife is to do, so what now?

A Bible dictionary defines "submit" (as found in Ephesians 5:22) in this way:

1. to arrange under, to subordinate
2. to subject, put in subjection
3. to subject one's self, obey
4. to submit to one's control
5. to yield to one's admonition or advice
6. to obey, be subject

    A Greek military term meaning "to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader." In non-military use, it was "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden."

    After reading this definition, I feel some of the ugliness of the word is removed, don't you? If you truly see your husband as the leader and you, as his wife, arrange yourself and your children under his command, you are showing a spirit of cooperation instead of contention. You are helping him to 'carry the burden,' by doing what you are responsible for and allowing him to do what he is responsible for. When you do it God's way and submit (obey, yield, etc.) to your husband's leadership you become part of the solution, not part of the problem.

    Some may be quick to say, " Yes, that's all well in good in an ideal world, but you don't know my husband!"

    All too often, women don't see their husband as a capable leader and so they begin to fill in the gaps and little by little 'pull at the reins' (taking over more and more), creating a sense of "constant dripping" (Proverbs 19:13, 27:15) until finally their husband relinquishes all control and leadership in the family and in the home. Losing confidence in themselves they become more and more the man their wives have believed them to be: weak, unable to lead, unable to make quality decisions, unattached to the needs of the family. The wives in these cases do not even acknowledge their own involvement in this downward spiral, they just resent their husbands more and more for doing less and less. It's an unfortunate and unlawful decline that is all too easy to get pulled into!

    When we do it God's way and submit to our husbands - truly submit - seeing our own husband as the leader God wants him to be, even if he is not that leader now, he will be. When you do your part and submit to his leadership, he will become the leader he needs to be. Please read 1 Peter 3:1-2.

    We need to stop thinking we know better. We need to start doing it God's way! We need to stop making fun of our husbands, belittling him and/or his decisions/ideas to our friends. We need to stop criticizing his every word of advice and every decision he makes. We need to give him control - hand back the reins. Believe him to be the leader God wants him to be. 

    Not every man is a born leader, but a good and loving wife will encourage him to become just that! When he knows that you fully trust him as your leader he will put more time, thought, and energy into the family he leads! He will do his best to do the best for you and the family. If he makes a mistake, don't belittle him, instead stand beside him and help him see it through. Don't give up on him. Encourage him to try again. Tell him how much you believe in him and his ability to successfully lead your family! Tell him this often!! Pray for him. And again I say, pray for him! Support him by doing what you are responsible for (house, children, etc.) and leave his responsibilities to him.

Can you see the difference between the two possible outcomes?

1. Ugly downward fall when the wife takes over
2. Beautiful steps forward that occur when a wife follows God's instruction

    Today, stop seeing submission as an ugly thing. Start seeing it as a beautiful instruction from God! Yes, it will take work, but anything worth having is going to take work! Let your husband become the leader that God wants him to be, let him flourish in that role! Submit to your husband and be his help meet, his cheerleader, his wife! Let God be magnified in your homes by exemplifying this instruction! Let people see through your example of obedience that the will of God is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2)!

"Do not let your adornment be merely outward - arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel - rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands..." (1 Peter 3:3-5 NKJV)

    A wife who, with a gentle and quiet spirit, is submissive to her own husband, is very precious in the sight of God! That is a picture of complete and perfect beauty!!

    Let's try to do our very best to be the best wife we can be to our own husbands, by doing it God's way!!

You can do it! So can I!!