Did you know that Sarah called Abraham "lord"? Not "Lord" with a capital L, which is only reserved for God, but "lord" with a small l. I Peter 3:5,6 reads, "For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are..."
What does this mean and how is it applicable to us today? Are we suppose to call our husbands "lord"? If we take Scripture as a whole, we know exactly what God meant by this. He wants us to reverance our husbands. He wants us to give them honor. He wants us to submit to them and even obey them. What does this look like?
It means we don't scold them or tell them what to do. We never are to treat them as children. We never speak evil of them to others. We only think highly of them and dwell on their good qualities. It means we are kind, gentle, and loving to them. It means we do what they ask, when they ask without grumbling or complaining. It means we speak highly of them to our children and others, building them up. If they are doing something we don't like, we don't scold them. We continue to act loving and kind and win them without a word as the Bible teaches.
Is this easy? No, but most of us have fallen into a rut of treating our husbands disrespectfully and dishonorably. We must begin practicing treating them as our authority with respect and honor for as we submit and obey our husband, we are submitting to and obeying God. Practice makes perfect. Change your thinking, then your behavior will change, and gradually even your feelings will change.
