A good wife can make a home a place of joy and happiness. A bad wife can make a home a place of misery and sorrow. Happy is the man who has a good wife, for he and his children shall surely be blessed.
Just as a Christian husband has great responsibilities to the home, so does a Christian wife. No home can be a happy, successful home unless both the Christian husband and the Christian wife accept their proper responsibilities. A wife who is a Christian must accept the responsibility to be a Christian wife.
First, the wife must be in subjection to her husband (Ephesians 5:22, 23). This does not mean she is her husband's slave. It does not mean she has no rights in her home. It means she understands that God has given the husband the responsibility to lead the home and that she will follow her husband's leadership. She will respect her husband as her husband cares for her and provides her the things they need in the home.
Second, she will reverence her husband (Ephesians 5:33). This means she will honor her husband. She will not talk or act in a way that will bring her husband shame.
Here is something that must be understood. A wife can be in subjection to a husband only if the husband is a true, faithful leader and provider for his home. If a husband is a poor leader and a lazy man, he can make it impossible for his wife to be in subjection. If a husband does nothing deserving of respect and honor, he can make it impossible for her to show him respect and honor. Yet, even if a Christian wife has a bad husband, she will not abuse him. She will still try to be a proper wife because she loves God even if she cannot respect her husband.
Titus 2:4, 5 gives the responsibilities of a Christian wife by telling what young wives should be taught. A Christian wife is serious in caring for her home. She loves her husband and her children. She is careful in her lifestyle (discreet) and keeps herself pure (chaste). Her first responsibility is to care for her home properly. She obeys her husband. Women who act like this bring respect to God and God's word as well as their husbands.
A good wife has power. The power is in her better way. I Peter 3:1,2 says that a Christian wife can lead her sinful husband to Christ if she will patiently, daily live a pure, spiritual life as a Christian woman. A Christian wife is the most helpful blessing on earth any Christian man can have. Without a good Christian wife, a Christian man can never become an elder in the church (I Timothy 3:2, 4; Titus 1:6). A wife who is a Christian wife will be loved and respected by God and her family. And she will bring glory and honor to her home.
Christian husbands and wives should know that the strongest home is the home that shares. If husbands and wives share thoughts, share needs, share the money and share understanding when making decisions, they will bring strength into their home. Husbands and wives who live their lives separately and share nothing are inviting trouble into their homes.
REVIEW QUESTIONS