Reverence is only used 13 times in the entire Bible. That is not very many when you look at the Word in its entirety. At least two are directly related to how a wife should act towards her husband. This was very enlightening to me. Considering how few times the word is mentioned, it must be a very important character trait for wives to seek.
However, let each man of you without exception love his wife as his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly. - Ephesians 5:33
When they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct yourselves, together with your reverence for your husband; you are to feel for him all that reverence includes: to respect, defer to, revere him–to honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human sense, to adore him, that is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply love, and enjoy your husband. - I Peter 3:2
I looked up reverence in the original Greek and the Webster’s dictionary and this is what I found…
Reverence – awe of, revere, a feeling or attitude of deep respect tinged with awe, the outward manifestation of this feeling. The thesaurus gave some more insight; honor, admiration, adoration, devotion, show honor and devotion to, look up to, respectfully cherish.
On the flip side; disrespect, dishonor, despise, scorn, mock, snap one’s fingers at, disregard, hatred.
Yikes! I certainly do not want to show hatred to my husband. Unfortunately, when I do not show him reverence that is exactly what I am doing! Honor is a word that your husband understands…he may not ever articulate it with words, however, he does know it and he does NEED it.
How Wives Can Show Honor to their Husbands…
- respect our husbands. do not embarrass him. do not speak to him in a superior way…especially in public or in front of the children.
- prefer them above all others (except God of course)
- esteem him
- admire him openly…in public and private
- defer to him…go to him for advice and include him in decisions. he needs to feel like you respect his views and feelings. he is after all, the head…or at least he SHOULD be in a healthy Christian marriage.
- praise and edify him…build him up with your words
- have fun and enjoy him
Honor with our Thoughts:
Submit your mind to the authority of Jesus Christ when dishonoring thoughts cloud your mind. (2 Corinthians 10:5, Hebrews 3:1)
This culture encourages and teaches the polar opposite of the UNCHANGING Word of the Living God. It’s all about self and my needs in the world. However, God’s Word is all about others and selfLESS.The world teaches woman power. The Word teaches submit to your husband. Satan is the ruler of this world. God is the only Truth. WHO are YOU going to choose to obey???
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. - Proverbs 16:18
As Christian wives, we need to submit to God’s authority and His Word. Period. Forget you and focus on God and your husband.
Let go of wrong thinking and renew your mind with the Word.
Honor with our Words:
Tell him that he is wonderful, awesome, more than you dreamed…even if by faith the words must come. SPEAK life to your husband. Life and death are in the power of your tongue. We can build them up and bring life to them and our marriages…or we can bring death and destruction to our husbands and eventually destroy our marriage.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it. - Proverbs 18:21
The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you. - Matthew 12:37
Speak positive, loving, honoring and life giving words to him in public and private. When you are with him and when you are not. Be a life giver in your marriage!
Honor with Actions:
Listen to your husband and honor the things that matter to him. If he wants you to clean your house, respect his request and DO it. If her wants you to spend less, begin to honor him with your finances. If your husband needs you to do something for him, DO it without complaining.
Include him in decisions. Be an encouragement for him to be a PART of your life and the life of your family. You are NOT the one who should be in charge. If you are the dominate force in the marriage you are out of alignment and NOT in God’s Will fro your marriage. Period. Honestly, women who dominate their husbands MUST submit to God’s Word and prayerfully seek Him and pray for God to help them. It is a terrible thing…especially to teach our children.
Children who see this behavior will not grow up with the proper mind set. If a dominating woman has a son, her son will most likely marry a dominating woman and the vicious unbalanced seed will continue to prosper. If she has daughters, they will dominate their husbands and also continue on this horrible tradition.
Seriously ladies, seek God about this. He created you to be submitted to your husband and to HELP HIM be the leader of the home. THAT is the only healthy way for a Christian, Bible believing marriage to be…
GOD
Husband
Wife
Children
A wise and good Mother will submit to the Lord and allow Him to teach her to be a wife that pleases HIM!
A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands. - Proverbs 14:1
I want you to remember something…God’s Word is NOT politically correct. God is not a feminist. He does not bend to the ways, cultures and ideas of man. Renew your mind with the WORD not the world. It may mean turning off that unhealthy soap opera, and reading your Bible…hmmm…something to think and pray about don’t ya think?
Honor your husband.
Homework:
Study and memorize Ephesians 5:33 and I Peter 3:2.
However, let each man of you without exception love his wife as his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly. - Ephesians 5:33
When they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct yourselves, together with your reverence for your husband; you are to feel for him all that reverence includes: to respect, defer to, revere him–to honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human sense, to adore him, that is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply love, and enjoy your husband. - I Peter 3:2
Dig deeper and seek God as to how you may lack in this areas and ways that you can improve. Below are some verses you should meditate on from this study…
- Proverbs 12:4; 14:1; 16:18
- Matthew 12:37
- 2 Corinthians 10:5
- Hebrews 3:1
Honor and respect your husband with your thoughts, words, and actions.
Copyright © Lara Velez, Moms of Faith, All Rights Reserved
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Came across your site today while looking for an online devotional for moms and this entry spoke VOLUMES to me! I tend to be a dominating woman in my relationship with my husband and reading this made me realize it once and again and set my heart in motion, made me realize that this is not the way my marriage was supposed to be and that I need to be 100% sure i’m doing my part every single day. This blog has been such a blessing, I’m adding you to my google reader right now! Thank you <33
Like the reader above, I was searching for a Christian Moms Blog site. This entry too really moved me. I read most of it to my husband. The part that really hit me was about a son marrying a dominating women and the cycle continues. I have become less dominating in the last year since bcoming a Christian but this made me realize I still have far to go!! Thanks so much!
Thank you for sharing this. Some people are so afraid to talk about what the Bible really says about how a wife is to act towards her husband. This is very convicting. Keep up the good work!
This article was EXACTLY what I needed to read today! I’ve been humbled and inspired. Thank you, Lord!
This article really spoke to me. I am learning what it means to be a Christian wife, and I greatly appreciate this article. It goes to show that the world’s way of thinking and doing things is totally opposite from God’s way. Thank for your boldness and commitment to what is means to be Christian women.
If a good marriage is to flourish it must be watered daily or it will wither away
Thank you for this article. My marriage has been going downhill and this whole time I thought it was him driving it. After reading this article, I realized I have not even come close to doing what I am supposed to do. I have been tearing down my house with my own hands. Thank you for this insight