Enjoying Life Together

Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honour to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. 1 Peter 3:7 NKJV

How can a couple enjoy life together? The Bible gives blueprints on how this can be achieved. In Ephesians 5: 20 – 33, a wife is admonished to submit to her husband and to respect him while a husband is required to love his wife. The responsibilities of husband and wife towards one another are further enhanced in 1 Peter 3: 1 -7. Husbands are required to honour their wives which includes respecting them as can be seen from other translations such as the Amplified Bible and the New International Version. The idea that a man should respect his wife is missing in some marriages. The truth is that if a man truly loves his wife, in the way God expects, honour would flow naturally as a result.

But a man is urged here to honour his wife and to regard her as the weaker vessel. He is also reminded that his wife, like him, is an heir of God’s gift of eternal life. A man must treat his wife in this way so that his prayers would not be hindered as 1 Peter 3:7 says.   

In the first part of this Chapter, Peter admonished wives to be submissive to their husbands. He also advised wives that our adornment should not only be of the outward man but that we must also have an inner beauty – a gentle and quiet spirit which is very precious in the sight of God.

We all have different temperaments. Some are naturally loud and boisterous while others are naturally quiet and reserved. However, the admonition in 1 Peter 3:4 is given to all women. All temperament types need to be refined by the working of the Holy Spirit. This is because some women though naturally quiet and reserved, have very sharp tongues and this does not please God. As we submit ourselves to God’s Word and His Spirit, He refines our natural dispositions and makes them pleasing in His sight.  

As we live according to God’s blueprint for our marriages, it creates harmony and we are able to enjoy life together as husband and wife.