Happy Wife Happy Life

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.  Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.  And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called woman, Because she was taken out of man."  Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2: 21-24 NKJV

A co worker of mine has a saying to those who give him a hard time for the amount of time and money that he spends on his wife.  Whenever someone brings this up, he'll simply say "A happy wife is a happy life."  Of course, I can see his point as domestic harmony is pretty essential in any marriage relationship.  For those who have traveled down the road of marriage, life ceases to become about "Me" and suddenly becomes about "We."  Some don't handle this transition all too well.  Depending on who you ask, the divorce rate in our country is between 40 and 50%.  So, what is that difference between a marriage which endures the test of time and one that falters at the very first signs of trouble?  Well, being a christian, I feel we can draw strength from our Lord in times of strife.  However, my co worker is not christian and he and his wife have been together for over 25 years!  Happy wife, happy life.  On the flip side of that same coin, my dear pastor friend has been married to his lovely wife for over 50 years.  So, we can see that both christian and non christian alike are capeable of strong marriages.  I'm just saying that the faith and strength of God makes the road a bit easier.  Now, before the anti God crowd hangs me from the highest tree, please understand that religion does not essentially equate a strong marriage.  But, if you insist on doing away with me, please leave no witnesses.  Is it strange for a christian to advocate marriage without God involved?  Possibly, but understand that far from pointing out the effectivness of non faith based marriage and families, I am simply putting focus on tthe individuals involved in this union.

Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man to not touch a woman.  Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.  Let the husband render to his wife the affection due to her, and also the wife to her husband.  The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does.  And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
1 Corinthians 7: 1-4 NKJV

Please take notice of the apostle Pauls instruction here in 1 Corinthians 7 to "Let the husband render to his wife the affection due to her."  Happy wife, happy life.  Now, I can just hear the screams of the womens rights groups  of today as Paul tells us that "The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does."   Of course, this flys in the face of the very agenda of those who claim to be supporting "Womens rights."  However, please remember what I've said that in the marriage relationship the "Me" has now become the "We."  I believe that this was the point that Paul was trying to drive home here.  For  when paul advises us that "The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does.  And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does," I believe that he was refering to the ultimate union  of two people in marriage.  Gone is that idea that we only serve ourselves for we now serve another as well.  Happy wife, happy life.

For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is also the head of the church; and He is the savior of the body.  Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so  let the wives to be to their own husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.  So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.  For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
Ephesians 5: 23-29 NKJV

I can think of no better example of a loving marriage than what Paul gives us here in Ephesians 5.  For if anyone raises the protest of Pauls claim of "The husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is the head of the church," then they do not fully understand just what he was getting at in this passage.  It is with the total, unselfish love of Christ that he gave Himself for us on the cross.  And it is with this total, unselfish love that Paul calls on husbands to love their wives.  Happy wife, hapy life.  What better example of unselfish love can one see than in Pauls call that "Husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.  For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church."  It seems  sort of strange that, as a christian, I would see one of the best examples of a marriage relationship in a non believer.  Happy wife, happy life.

~Scott~