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NIV is used unless otherwise noted.



A Little Respect

However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Ephesians 5:33


R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Can you hear the song? I can. We all want it, right? But men need it. Men live off of respect. When a man feels respected, he thrives. When a man feels he has lost all respect, he feels like a failure. God knows the man he created. He knew this was primary to our fellows when he created Adam.

Do we respect our husbands? We might think we do, but let’s see what our actions reflect. Do we treat our husbands like the rest of the kids in the house? The man of your house is not just a taller version of the loud, messy, small people who share the house with you. Do you order him around or make all the decisions on your own? I understand that the woman tends to rule the roost when it comes to kids and family. I get it; my house is my domain, too. But when you treat your man like a kid, he will get beat down and quit trying to lead.

So how can we show respect? Show your husband that you need him. Ask him for help rather than complain about what he does not do. Tell him you need his strong muscles on a difficult task. You need his height and long arms for something you can't do yourself. Be creative in allowing your husband to take care of you. He longs to be your rescuer. He needs to be needed by you. Encourage him and build him up with your words. I'm not the best at this either, but I am going to keep trying. The more I encourage and allow my husband to lead, the more he feels the power to meet my needs. It is a pretty cool cycle.

God, help me to encourage and build up my husband each and every day. Show me the ways I am not respectful to him and teach me how to respect and love him better.



Julie Smith

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