Husbands… live with your wives in an understanding way (1 Peter 3:7 NIV)
Sacrifice is another dirty word in our culture. And yet it is the very essence of how God Himself lived and died when He was a man. How do we as husbands live sacrificially with our wives? We first need to ask ourselves if we are even living with our wives in the first place.
You say, “Of course I’m living with my wife. We are living in the same house, eating at the same table, raising the same kids, and even sleeping in the same bed.” And yet, we can do all these things and still not really be living with our mate!
Contrary to what we may think men, our wives did not marry us for our money, sex appeal, and home maintenance skills (we know we’re in trouble if they did). They committed the rest of their lives to us because they found someone they wanted to be their very best friend. What they need and crave the most is sincere, proactive, and fun companionship and that is often a real sacrifice for us. Why is it so hard to not only explain what happens at work, but to also describe the people at work so that our wife knows them as well as we do?
Really “living with” our wives is just “hanging out” on a daily basis, accomplishing nothing but a good conversation. Its creatively buying a little gift or planning a date. Its making sure our wives know all about both our dreams and our fears. If you want to know whether you are fulfilling your God-given responsibility as a husband, simply ask your wife if the quality of your friendship goes beyond even what she dreamed of when she married you. Really… ask her.