The Wife's Rule by James Smith
"Wives, submit yourselves
unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." Ephesians 5:22
The comfort of
home very much depends on the wife, and the happiness of the husband is greatly
in her power. The wife has often ruined the husband, or rendered the
marriage-tie a subject of deep regret. An ungovernable temper, a proud spirit,
a wish to conform to all the fashions of the present world — has rendered many
a Christian's home really miserable!
Submission is
difficult — where pride rules in the spirit! Yes, it is impossible! And yet,
without submission on the part of the wife, happiness will never be the portion
of the husband. Submission is the wife's duty: the Holy Spirit says, "As
the church is subject unto Christ — so let the wives be unto their own husbands
in everything." A submissive disposition, and a meek quiet spirit — are
two of the most beautiful ornaments a wife can wear.
Every Christian
woman should look upon her husband as the representative of Christ in the
family, and submit to him as such. Her submission should extend to everything which
does not run counter to the commands of God. The less a wife desires to have
her own will — the better for her own comfort.
In consequence
of sin, the Lord said, "Your desire shall be to your husband — and he
shall rule over you." And this declaration of God stands in full
force at the present day, "The husband is the head of the wife —
even as Christ is the head of the church." In these different epistles,
has the Holy Spirit spoken to wives, and commanded them to submit to
their husbands; this may imply that the duty is difficult — but it
testifies that the duty is imperative.
The wife should
love her own husband — as the church loves Christ; and strive by every possible
means to make him happy and honourable. She should strive to make his home the
most comfortable, never meeting him at his return with a frown, or hailing him
with a cross word; but her countenance should be lighted up with love, and on
her lips should be the law of kindness. A woman's love, judiciously
manifested — is almost invincible! But an evil temper indulged by a wife — is
most repulsive! Nothing weakens a husband's love, or raises a husband's temper,
like cross words or unpleasant looks from his wife. They never ought to be; but
if they have been, they should be confessed with sorrow, and conquered with
care.
The wife should
bear in mind, that her husband is a Christian; that Jesus tenderly loves him;
that He has made him His representative; that He requires her to submit to
him in His name, and for His sake: and that He looks upon her disobedience — as
directed against His authority; and her unkindness to her husband — as grieving
His love.
My sister, it
is your duty to learn subjection, for the Lord's sake, to imbibe and
manifest a meek, lowly, and submissive spirit; a spirit that will yield
everything for conscience' sake, unless in so doing you would sin against God.
Oh, if wives
were willing to submit, if they only consulted the happiness of their husbands,
if they made the precepts of the gospel their rule — what happy homes, what
happy husbands they would have!
"Let the
wife see that she respect her husband." But is this the case,
even with godly wives? Can it be neglected, and the Spirit who commanded — not
be grieved? Can the Spirit be daily grieved, by conduct the very opposite of
His command — and the Christian be happy? It is impossible! See then one cause
why so many wives are in such an unhappy and uncomfortable a state!
Chaste
conversation should be coupled with fear — a fear to grieve, wound, or distress
a husband's mind. Sarah, who obeyed and reverenced Abraham, should be the
wife's daily pattern. No wife can be happy, no wife can be ornamental, no wife
can have the testimony of a good conscience — unless she observes the precept,
"Wives submit yourselves unto your husbands — as unto the
Lord."
Yesterday and today's post go well with Oswald Chambers today, so I could not resist it
The first thing I must be willing to admit when I begin to examine what controls and dominates me is that I am the one responsible for having yielded myself to whatever it may be. If I am a slave to myself, I am to blame because somewhere in the past I yielded to myself. Likewise, if I obey God I do so because at some point in my life I yielded myself to Him.
If a child gives in to selfishness, he will find it to be the most enslaving tyranny on earth. There is no power within the human soul itself that is capable of breaking the bondage of the nature created by yielding. For example, yield for one second to anything in the nature of lust, and although you may hate yourself for having yielded, you become enslaved to that thing. (Remember what lust is— “I must have it now,” whether it is the lust of the flesh or the lust of the mind.) No release or escape from it will ever come from any human power, but only through the power of redemption. You must yield yourself in utter humiliation to the only One who can break the dominating power in your life, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. “. . . He has anointed Me . . . to proclaim liberty to the captives . . .” (
Luke 4:18 and
Isaiah 61:1).
When you yield to something, you will soon realize the tremendous control it has over you. Even though you say, “Oh, I can give up that habit whenever I like,” you will know you can’t. You will find that the habit absolutely dominates you because you willingly yielded to it. It is easy to sing, “He will break every fetter,” while at the same time living a life of obvious slavery to yourself. But yielding to Jesus will break every kind of slavery in any person’s life
Courtesy of http://utmost.org/
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