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No one that I know of likes to receive correction. Some people are better than others at knowing what to do with it. As children of God, we’re supposed to be on the lookout for a brother/sister that has stumbled and be able to help them out of it.
Wouldn’t it be a whole lot easier if everyone received what we had to say gracefully? Sure. Of all people, who should we be most open to receiving correction from? Our spouse.
You see, the Bible says “Rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.” (Proverbs 9:8b) So the question to you, Godly Wife, is how do you receive correction? It is so much easier to lead each other unto good works if those times where you need correcting you are open to it. And, in my mind, this is the ultimate example of an intimate bond– where you are not defensive when correction comes, but, knowing the fact that your husband loves you, you listen to what he has to say, and apply it to your lives.
Let me make the distinction here– I’m not talking about your husband berating you, or belittling you. I am talking about when your husband takes the Word of God and shows you where you might be wrong, and where he thinks you have to change.
Do you show your husband reverence and that you are subject to him (Eph. 5:24) even when he is correcting you? Some ways to do this would be listening closely, carefully, and not listening with the hopes of finding something where you can prove that he is wrong about the correction.
Ephesians 5:25-28 talks to the husbands about how Christ died for the church so that He might cleanse it through the washing of water by the word. If men are to be ones that love you like Christ loved the church, they have to be able to help you toward greater godliness, and you have a big impact on how well or how often he helps you.
So, I ask you, Godly Wife, do you make it easy for your husband to help you grow in Christ through correction, or is it an awful chore that he must endure– something he has to force himself to do?
Question Idea taken from Questions for a Godly Wife
- Godly Wife: Is He Your Master?
- Godly Wife: Who Are You Seeking to Please?
- Godly Wife: Are You His Helper or His Obstacle?
- Godly Wife: Does Your Husband’s Heart Trust in You?
- Godly Wife: How Do You Handle When He is Wrong?
- Godly Wife: How do you Handle Disagreements?
- Godly Wife: How Do You Receive Correction?
- Godly Wife: Are You Drawing Him to You with Your Speech?
- Godly Wife: How Does Your Husband Grow?
- Godly Wife: Who Trains the Children?
- Godly Wife: How Do You Make Your Husband Feel?
- Godly Wife: Are You Intimately Available?
- Godly Wife: Do You Speak To Your Husband with Flattering Words?
- Godly Wife: Are You Helping Your Husband to Greater Heights?
- Godly Wife: Are You Keeping Your Wedding Vows?
- Godly Wife: Are You Openly Appreciative of Your Husband?
- Godly Wife: Do You Dominate Your Husband?
- Godly Wife: Have You Cut the Cord?
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
(Jam 5:16)
Something like that… Meaning: I am not that godly as I would like to be. I do not take correction theway I should. I have become better, but it is a long way to go.
Another very good post. It has given me much to think about!
Stumbling on this page whilst researching domestic violence law in Victorian times, I am feeling a litle confused. Where are the articles advocating a husband listening when his wife points out his erring ways on his path through life to God? But then I expect you won’t publish this comment because you can have no real answer 😉
annabel
Hey Annabel,
Actually, I find human interaction, especially in marriage, interesting. Each person has a different way of responding to different things. I think that there are different traps for the different sexes.
One thing that I find particularly challenging for guys is being the leader in the home. I think that guys can either overreact and become dictatorial or they can get trampled.
In the case of this post, I was addressing the problem that guys have in doing what they’re supposed to because they feel that they cannot approach their wife with something that they see.
In a broader sense, you’re right. If you’re not helping to build each other up in God then you really aren’t doing the best you can do be building each other up.
You may also want to check out the companion “Godly Husband” series as I ask the question of how do men treat their wife– is she your helper or your slave?
Men have to love their wives more than they love themselves.
And no, I wouldn’t censor your comments even if I didn’t have an answer.
I was once a muslim and am contemplating converting to christianity. What doe sit mean to submit to your husband? I had much of this talk in the muslim faith and hated it, the religion even goes as far as to say “A woman who does her daily prayers and pleases her husband will enter heaven”. Is this the same in Christianity or can a woman be blessed directly from God. I don’t like the idea of submitting to anyone but God. And if I should submit to a husband does he also submit to me?