3 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Peter has addressed his readers and given instructions as citizens, as servants/employees, and now he moves to the home. He continues the theme of submission to authority with wifely submission to the headship of the husband.
It’s important to note that the instruction is for wives to submit to their own husbands. This is not a general command for women to submit to men, but for wives to willingly, joyfully respect and submit to the headship of their husbands.
But as with citizenship and servanthood, there is no exception made for wives with unbelieving or unloving husbands. The Christian wife is to submit to her husband and respect her husband. Period.
If the husband is an unbeliever or if he is not loving his wife as he should, the Christian woman seeks to win him over by respectful and pure conduct, not by rejecting his headship of the family and disrespecting him.
Furthermore, the Christian wife puts her hope and her trust in the promises of God, not her looks or possessions.
Peter gives the example of Sarah who followed Abraham as he left behind his family to go to a place that God would only later show him, and trusted Abraham even as he made some really bad decisions. The Christian wife is not controlled by fear, she trusts in God. As an act of that trust, she submits to the headship of her husband.
The instruction to husbands is much shorter, for reasons we do not know. Peter tells husbands to live with their wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with men in the grace of life. Weaker vessel does not mean inferior in personhood, just as the instruction for wives to submit to their husbands does not mean that women are inferior in personhood. Women are physically weaker. Men should not physically dominate their wives, as unfortunately many men through history have done. Men should love their wives, and not use their position as head of the family selfishly.
Here are your questions for the day.
How do you respond when you hear/read Peter instruct wives to submit to their own husbands? Does it make you uncomfortable?
Do you think it’s unfair that God instructs wives to submit to the headship of their husbands? Why or why not?
What does it mean for a husband to live with his wife in an understanding way?
From verse 7, how serious an issue is it when a Christian husband does not live with his wife in an understanding way?
No comments:
Post a Comment