Monday, October 13, 2014

Greeting Him with a Smile!


When my son, Ryan, gets home from work, Erin opens the garage door and greets him with a big smile. There is always a warm dinner prepared for him. How could he not want to please a wife like this? Most women want a husband who makes them happy and feel cherished. If Ryan came home and Erin met him with a scowl and then proceeded to tell him all her woes, do you think this would encourage Ryan to try to please Erin? Do you think if she nagged, manipulated, complained, and tried to control him to get what she wants that she'd get what she wanted? No! He loves being married to her.

Why do you think there are so many verses in Proverbs about a nagging wife? I believe it is because it is a big problem. This is why the Bible warns husbands not to be harsh with their wives. When a wife is continually nagging a husband, like a drippy faucet, it would be easy for a husband to respond harshly to this kind of behavior. {I realize there are some very mean husbands that are harsh regardless of their wives' behavior so I don't mean to blame wives for every husband's harsh behavior.}

However, if a wife tries to win her husband through a joyful attitude, serving and pleasing him, he will usually want to please her since we reap what we sow. Claim that promise from God that states a godly woman can win a disobedient husband without a word. A husband is much more likely to listen to his wife if she is kind, gentle and loving towards him.

Smiling at Ken was the first sign to him that I was changing. Whenever I walked in the room, I would smile at him. This was a big change. I use to always be upset with him and I mentor way too many women who are always upset with their husbands. Believe me wives, nothing good comes from always being upset with our husbands. They feel rejected and then rebel even further if they are not being treated with respect. When you smile at him, you are telling him that you are happy to see him!

A woman in an interview said this about her divorce, "He is a great father but a terrible husband!" I would have loved asking her if she was a wonderful wife. Was she joyful around him? Did she treat him with respect? Did she try to do things that pleased him? It is so easy to say how horrible our husbands are and so hard to say where we are falling short.

Another friend of mine is a small group leader in a women's Bible study and all the women want to do is tell everyone how difficult their husbands are to live with since they don't help with the children, the housework, etc. When did it become acceptable to complain about our husbands to others??? Doesn't love call us to believe the best of others? Aren't we called to be a crown to our husbands and respect him?

Therefore, women, begin greeting your husband with a smile. Be joyful around him. Treat him with respect. Learn what pleases him. Stop dwelling on his faults and dwell on the good things about him; the things that drew you to him in the first place. Become a crown to your husband!

A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: 
but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
Proverbs 12:4