Day 7: Reverence My Husband..does that just mean at Home or all the Time?

  Reverence...what does that word mean to you? Honor, esteem, deep respect for, to treat with regard. The Bible says that wives reverence their husbands (Ephesians 5:33). How do we do that?

Many times I see women who are respectful to their husbands at home, but when they are out at their job, with their friends, or on the internet....the respect that they say they have just does not come through in their actions. It is so easy when we are around a group of women and someone begins talking about her husband, his failures, weaknesses, the other women more often than not seem to jump on the bandwagon and "one up" each other with just how ridiculous their husbands are. Well girls, that is not respect. That is not reverance. Now I will be the first to tell you that it is not easy to be the one that says, enough, but if you don't take a stand then who will? Remember, out of  the heart the mouth speaks.

In our culture today it is promoted through media that the male is dumb, not able to figure things out on his own, that he is weak somehow, that he is a loser...oftentimes our culture has a poor view of males. If we are not careful, we will take those images into our hearts and before you know it we will see our spouses in the same light. We cannot let that happen! We must be intentional about the things we are taking in to our homes through different media outlets. Are the things we are watching and reading upholding the standards we say we have?

What about you and your circle of friends and family? Do you tell things on your life's mate just to get a laugh? Do you point out his flaws to your friends?  Are you only respectful through lip service and that feeling does not really convey what is in your heart? When we speak or have any action, we are doing one of two things, we are either building our relationships up or we are tearing them down.

Men often equate respect with love...women are the opposite, they equate affection and romance with love. But we have to understand that these things work together in a cycle... I can tell you from my own experience that the more I show reverence to my husband, the more it seems that he showers me with love and affection.  The more he showers me with love and affection, the more I show him respect.

But, we cannot just show respect without having it in our hearts first. If you try it any other way, it will fail. Let me also point out to you, the scripture does not say only show reverence when he deserves it, we are to reverence our husbands whether or not we feel it, and whether or not we think they  deserve it.

Girls, we hold our husbands hearts in our hands....how we treat them and speak about them in public arenas says a lot about how we truly feel about them. Your husband needs to know that his heart is safe with you....it's something we need to take seriously not just in private settings, but in public as well.

Today's Vow: To speak well of you in front of others
The Challenge: Look after your husband's heart, particularly by looking after his honor in  public settings. 

Walking with you on this journey,
Regina