Godly Success In Marriage

Godly Success in Marriage - Part 6

Action 2: Esteem Your Spouse

We show our spouses that we value them. Esteem is how we communicate to people their distinctive worth, how wonderful they are. The woman in the Song of Solomon said, “I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys” (Song of Sol. 2:1). The lily and the rose are flowers of singular beauty. That’s how her betrothed treated her. She said to him, “My beloved is to me a pouch of myrrh which lies all night between my breasts” (Song of Sol. 1:13).

To her, he was like perfume that she would wear around her neck, his memory close to her heart all night. That’s the way we need to treat each other in marriage.

Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher of London, referred to his wife as “Sweety.” She referred to him as “Tirshatha,” which is a Hebrew word in the book of Nehemiah for “governor”. (I said to my wife, “I like that: ‘governor’ has a nice ring to it”.) Treat your spouse biblically, like you treat your own body.

Men should nourish and cherish their wives, like Christ treats His church. Treat her like a king would treat his crown. When I see a man disrespect his wife, I don’t care how smart or how successful he is, he has fallen way down in my sight. If a man makes minimum wage and treats his wife with dignity, he has integrity and is worthy of respect.

The same thing is true for woman. I feel embarrassed when I hear a woman deride her husband in public. It’s embarrassing, degrading and inappropriate. There is nothing a man wants more from his wife than respect. “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord…Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her”
(Eph 5:22,25).

Sometimes when men read this, they think of Christ’s torture, execution, and death. They get ready to die in some terrible way for their wives. The reality is that there probably won’t be a time in most men’s lives when somebody says, “It’s you or your wife.” Rather than being so chivalrous on your dying day, how about being kind and considerate every day? Instead of dying for your wife, why don’t you die to yourself and be kind and tender to your wife? Die for her one hour at a time.

posted by Lighthouse @ 1:42 PM