“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.” – Proverbs 31:10-12NIV
I’d like to highlight one area of influence that sometimes gets overlooked and that’s the influence of a wife. Most Christians know the man is the head of the home, however we often only recognize his spiritual influence over a family when a wife can just as easily rock a family’s spiritual boat if she is not grounded in God’s word. I’ve seen deeply spiritual men lose their passion for God and live lives of compromise because of a wife’s lukewarm/carnal lifestyle.
In one dream, the Lord spoke to my fiancé about a man he wanted to minister to, and said the man had married a fox. In the Bible, it’s stated that the small foxes spoil the vine and that is exactly what was happening in this man’s life. His wife was allowing little compromises into their life and instead of standing up as the spiritual head of the home, the husband welcomed the compromises with open arms. As wives (and future wives), we should recognize our influence. Are we Godly examples to our spouses or are we foxes spoiling the vine? Our role is sometimes overlooked, but it’s definitely not insignificant. They need us!
On a positive note, I’ve heard testimonies of women who married ungodly men, but by using their influence correctly, actually brought their husbands to the Lord. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:1-2 NIV, “Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.” A wife’s influence is powerful!! Our passion or lack thereof for the Lord can spill over onto our husbands (future husbands) and solidify or destroy our family’s spiritual heritage. What we watch on TV, the words we allow out of our mouths, the conversations we entertain, the music we fill our homes with, the attitudes we carry, and places we go, have a huge affect on the men in our lives. One tiny step at a time, we are either nicking away or strengthening his Godly foundation.
This is especially true for young couples, because they will be spending the next 20-30-40-even 50 years together. That’s a lot of time to be “nicking away” or strengthening! One thing is for sure, our men will not be in the same spiritual place 20-50yrs from now. Their spiritual lives will have either dissolved into nothing or flourished into more than we can imagine. Those results will be greatly dictated by us!
The quote, “Behind every great man is a great woman” is very true. The woman is a man’s supporter, nurturer and friend. We spend more time with our men then almost anyone. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV, “Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."
Are we bad or good company for our husbands? Since we are the ones they spend most of their time with, this is a very important question to ask ourselves.
Do we want to use our influence to lead our men into compromise, or do we want to use our influence to draw a spiritual line in the sand for generations to come. Lets make a decision to support their spiritual growth so they can be the great “men of valor” they are intended to be.
Our influence counts! It’s changing our family! How it’s changing is up to us!
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