Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 131st. Edition.
Dear Ambassadors of the Heavenly King,
In today’s passage (1 Peter 3:7) we look at the responsibility of the husband in the marital relationship. Men often ignore the teaching of scripture about their responsibility, while at the same time brow-beating wives with theirs. I would like to repeat here that both men and women are responsible first to God. As we shall see shortly, ignoring God’s instructions on the part of men can have undesirable repercussions.
Honour. Men are instructed to deal considerately with wives because wives are the weaker vessel. Peter’s meaning here is not clear. Some have suggested that he means that women are weaker, physically. But this is not always true. Some women are much stronger than their husbands. Others have opined that women are emotionally weaker than men. Again this is not only outrageous, it perpetuates the myth that emotional sensitivity, which women have by the quart (in general), is a weakness. Unfortunately, this is simply chauvinistic. Many a man is propped up on the wife’s emotional strength. Different does not imply weaker or inferior. My take is that the societal/cultural norms of Peter’s day, as even is the case today, disadvantaged women and put them in a “weakened” position. A woman who is mistreated by her husband, in general, has no recourse to justice, whereas social structures protect the men and grant them abusive leeway. When a husband deals with his wife, he ought to be conscious of the fact that he has the “social upper hand.”
Heirs. Women are equal joint heirs of the grace of God. The term used here, “grace of life,” implies that it is the grace given to empower for life. A woman does not depend on her husband for this grace. However, the implication of the phrase “heirs together” is that one’s attitudes and actions can affect the outworking of the grace of God in one’s spouse.
Hindrance. Strife, tension, and conflict within a marital relationship will hinder the effectiveness of the couple’s prayers. We cannot let disharmony fester and simmer, as if it will just walk away by itself. Further, there is a hint of the need for non-violence when we come to prayer, in the words of the Apostle Paul “that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath… ” (1 Timothy 2:8). Have your prayers been empty shouts into a void?
Are you getting no answers, no matter how fervently you pray? Examine your attitudes toward your spouse.
Your Loving Pastor Chris