Do you agree or disagree?
If you were in church today, you know that Pastor Ken preached a message on "Men Want Respect". The message was taken from two passages in the scripture, Eph. 5:33 and 1 Peter 3:1-2.
Ephesian 5:33 - However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
1 Peter 3:1-2 - Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
As the service was over, I ran in to a friend who asked a question about what is the definition of respect. I took it upon myself to look it up this evening and have included some definitions of respect from an online dictionary below:
Respect:
If you were in church today, you know that Pastor Ken preached a message on "Men Want Respect". The message was taken from two passages in the scripture, Eph. 5:33 and 1 Peter 3:1-2.
Ephesian 5:33 - However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
1 Peter 3:1-2 - Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
As the service was over, I ran in to a friend who asked a question about what is the definition of respect. I took it upon myself to look it up this evening and have included some definitions of respect from an online dictionary below:
Respect:
- esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability
- deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment
- the condition of being esteemed or honored
- favor or partiality.
- to show regard or consideration for
So ladies, the question I have for you is does respect have to be earned or should we respect the men in our lives no matter what? Biblically, there is no question that we must respect men (especially our husbands) no matter what. I realize that for some this can be easier said than done. However, if we do not than we are being disobedient to what the Bible says.
Some of you attended the marriage seminar at church recently or have read the book "Love and Respect". Are you applying these principles to your daily walk with God and in relationships with all men in your life?
Some of the ways that Pastor Ken mentioned that we can show men respect are as follows:
1. Tell them you respect them and why
2. Ask for their opinions
3. Honor and support them publicly, disagree privately
4. Thank them for working to support the family
5. If married, let them lead
6. Don't nag
7. Listen
8. Cheer their successes and good decisions
9. Minimize their bad decisions
10. Do activities together
11. If married, be physically intimate
12. If you want a solution, let a man fix the problem
13. Respect God
The one thing that I would add to this is pray for the men in your life (especially your husband). This is very important. It is not enough to love them and respect them but pray for them!
For some of you ladies hurting out there and not feeling loved especially from the men in your life or maybe they have betrayed you in some way, I am sure that it will be difficult to show them respect but I am praying for you! We cannot change our husbands, only God can! However, we can change ourselves and be obedient to what God is telling us and I would encourage you ladies to evaluate your own life as hard as it may be. God will give you the strength!
