“ . . . each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 NLT
I’m certain you’ve heard some preacher inform a congregation that the Bible contains everything one needs to know to survive and thrive in this life and the next. The claim isn’t original, but it makes good sermon material. People loosely accept the statement as true, but in reality feel that it falls under the category of fanciful thinking.
The Bible isn’t going to tell me what I need to know to be an engineer–e.g., educate me on thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, vibration, metallurgy, etc.–but it does instruct me on how to regard my labor and conduct myself in doing business. It doesn’t tell us everything we need to know, but it certainly tells us what we need to do to live in harmony with His plan for our lives.
I’ve read many books about marriage–thousands of pages worth. I suggest that many problems experienced by married couples arise from each one trying to figure out things on their own and assuming their partner should think and feel as they do. These marriages rarely make it. Instead, they should educate themselves by studying the works of Christian experts, including those in the Bible, who have evaluated carefully what makes marriages click.
Let me boil the issue down to the lowest common denominator. Today’s marriage experts have concluded that wives want to be loved and husbands want to be respected. Some have even landed books on the New York Times Best Sellers list with this finding. Amazing! They are only two thousand years late in discovering what the apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:33 around 60-61 A.D. while in prison. We aren’t nearly as original as we may think.
Maybe there is something to be said for the preacher’s claim after all. The Bible contains so much wisdom. We should never take it lightly or assume it doesn’t apply to us today. Relative to wives wanting love and husbands wanting respect, Paul nailed it.
Do you want a better marriage? Look in the Book!
Prayer: Thank you, God, for Your wisdom to us revealed through the pages of the Bible. Amen