I found an interesting post here at SmartPastor.com.
It is an article that addresses a recent trend in many “Christian marriage advice” circles…blame the husband.
An excerpt…
A good number of Christian marriage books run around and tell the husband and wife that it is the husband’s job to do what ever the wife asks, without question or hesitation. If he is a good enough servant, then she will be in the mood for sex and make him happy.
If your wife is not in the mood for sex, then it is the fault of the man. He was not a good enough servant for if you love your wife like Christ loves the church, she will want to have sex often and with passion.
Now, I realize that men are to serve their wifes and that most men I know (myself included) can do a much better job of serving their wives. But at the end of the day I think this way of reasoning gives permission for women to be selfish and men to become discouraged…if loving your wife like Christ loves the church is the key to being happy in marriage (at least in the area of sex), how many men are going to give up trying because they know they can never attain it?
If you are a regular or semi-regular participant in our Christian Marriage Forum, you know that one of our first “controversies” revolved around this issue.
We had asked a couple (a pastor and his wife) that has written several Christian marriage books to help moderate the forums.
Only after a few weeks, did we realize that they very much espoused the point of view that ALL (or at least 99%) of Christian marriage problems are caused by the husband.
Until this incident, to be honest, I was not even aware that there was such a point of view.
Apparently, those that espouse this view feel that the husband is primarily responsible for the success of Christian marriages.
If there is a problem in the marriage, it is because the husband is not 100% right with God.
If the wife is not following God…it is because the husband is not “the man of God” that he should be.
If the wife is cheating…it is because the husband is not “the man of God” that he should be.
Etc., etc….
The solution to any marriage problem lies with the husband becoming what God expects and following God’s leading.
If the husband does this, somehow (magically) the wife will automatically be changed into the perfect Christian wife and the marriage will move into perfect bliss.
Ummm…probably not.
This approach to marriage advice strikes me like a fad diet approach to losing weight. Christian couples that are struggling in their marriage are so desperate for a solution that they will put their hopes in almost anything…even something slightly nutty.
I also find it offensive in two ways.
As a Christian, I resist the idea that (whether husband or wife) God will unilaterally “force” one spouse to become “the perfect spouse,” irrespective of their interest or desire in doing so.
As a woman (if I were one), I would find it offensive that I was being treated like a mindless, responsibility-free robot to which the husband and God have complete control (I have no free will).
In thirty plus years of living as a Christian and over ten years of ad hoc counseling with other Christian couples, I have never once seen a situation where a marriage problem could be solved this easily and simply.
Is our advice and experience that God has the desire and ability to create relationship miracles? Of course.
Our first approach is always to “go to God.”
But, after that, it is absolutely necessary that BOTH spouses are committed to knowing God’s will for their marriage and DOING IT.
Will prayer for your spouse (sometimes) create HUGE changes in your spouse’s desire to follow God closer…and to improve the marriage? Yes. Absolutely.
But…
Both the husband and the wife are 100% responsible for both their relationship with God and the success of their marriage.
One spouse cannot “magically” change the other by getting “right with God.”
The above article caught my attention particularly because of the author’s question, “if loving your wife like Christ loves the church is the key to being happy in marriage (at least in the area of sex), how many men are going to give up trying because they know they can never attain it?”
If any of us are 100% responsible for the success of our marriage…and the only way we can achieve this success is by achieving “Christ-like” perfection…none of us have any hope.
In our experience, God does not wait until we achieve this “Christ-like” perfection until he is willing to work miracles in our relationships. If this was not the case, since there is no marriage in heaven, there would be no such thing as “a good Christian marriage.”
Posted: November 14th, 2007 under Christian Marriage, Christian Wives, Christian Husbands.
Comments: 1