Day 11: 30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge

Man is commanded to love his wife as himself and to treat his wife as he wants to be treated. If he does as he is commanded, then our submission to him is a return of respect and consideration. Abraham is urged to listen to his wife, Sarah in the Old Testament. A good Christian husband is not one who orders his wife about like some kind of slave and that is not what is meant in the bible. It is a husband who wants the best for his wife, who wants to lift her up and help her to become all she can be.

When we, as wives, make snide comments, second guess every decision that comes from our husband's mouth, and speak rudely of our husbands to others, we are undermining the loving marriage that God intended for us to have. Think about it. How would we feel if our husbands went around telling others that we didn't help around the house enough or that we didn't spend enough time with the children or that we were unattractive? We would grow bitter, wouldn't we? We would stop putting forth the effort to be a loving wife.

Marriage is a two way street. Husbands are responsible for lifting up their wives and wives are responsible for lifting up their husbands. We do this through mutual submission and respect and love. We don't get to talk ugly and then expect them to be all sugar and cream.

None of our husbands are perfect. And some are downright evil (abusive husbands). But if you are not in an abusive relationship or a relationship where your husband is expecting you to do things that go against what God commands you, then you need to step back and cut your husband some slack (I know I need to do this too). Make a habit of saying something kind and loving at least once a day. When we force ourselves to focus on postive, we soon begin to see that there is way more positive there than negative. But if we are always fussing about the negative, it clouds our view of our husband's and it all becomes ugly.

The next time your husband suggests something for you to do, try to hold your tongue and think about it before you start jumping up and down and saying stuff like 'how dare you suggest that?' or 'I'm an adult and can make up my own mind'. Treat your husband the way you likely treat your friends. When a friend says something to you like 'why don't you consider switching jobs to such and such because you are so good at it'...you don't start ranting and raving at them, you at least consider it. How much more do we owe our husbands that same kind of love and consideration?