Do Your Husband No Harm: Two Wives Compared
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:11-12
Our husbands are precious gifts from God. We should be thankful and cherish them.
We naturally give precious things the utmost care. We do not use grandmother's hand sewn quilt for a picnic or Mom’s fine china for our toddler's birthday party. Our husbands are far greater treasures; we should joyfully “do good” toward them and “not harm” all of our days.
What Is Good?
Good is keeping their welfare at the forefront of our hearts, and doing those things that would benefit them most.
What Is Evil/Harm?
Creating distress, misery or calamity for our husbands does them harm. Because we are one, when we are good to our husbands, we are actually good to ourselves. Likewise, when we cause them harm, we harm ourselves. The bible gives us a great example of a wife that does well by her husband and one that causes misery. Let's first take a look at the “good wife,” Priscilla.
Priscilla – Wife of Aquila
Acts Chapter 18; Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19
No doubt about it, every man would love to have a wife like Priscilla. Her devotion to her husband's welfare is clearly seen as she:
*works by his side making tents to support their household Acts 18:1-3
*serves with him in ministry, yet does not try to rise above him Acts 18:24- 26 17
*joyfully makes her home available for church meetings Romans 16:5, 1 Corinthians 16:19
Whew! What a woman! She held down a job, worked in ministry, was submissive to her husband and hospitable to the saints. Priscilla truly worked in concert with Aquila. Interestingly, the bible does not mention Priscilla or Aquila separately. They were extremely effective in ministry because they functioned as one. Priscilla is a striking example of a wife who “did good.”
In contrast, let's take a look at Eve. Unfortunately, she harmed her husband immensely.
Eve – Wife of Adam
Genesis 2:7 through Genesis 3:24
Eve offered her husband the fruit that God had forbidden them to eat. Adam decided to take her up on the offer. It was not Eve's fault that Adam ate. Obviously, he had been obedient to God's command until this point. Is it possible that the fruit was more appealing to him when presented by her hand than when merely hanging on the tree? Eve's action was a disservice to her husband, herself, her children, and all mankind. Why? Because, when Adam ate, sin and death entered the world.
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12
How was Adam harmed by accepting his wife's offer?
*He experienced shame before God Genesis 3:10
*He was expelled from the garden Genesis 3:23-24
*He had to work hard to survive Genesis 3:17-19
*His name is tarnished (forever tied to the fall of man) Romans 5:14; Proverbs 22:1
*His seed produces fallen sinners Romans 5:12
*He died Genesis 5:5
Because Eve was deceived, she caused her husband great harm. I believe the lesson to us here is to endeavor to know the Word of God well. If Eve had known with certainty what God had commanded, would she have been so easily deceived? We do not know. (This question exists because her response to the serpent was not exactly what God had said.) However, we see here that lacking clarity pertaining to God's commandment can cause us (or anyone) to fall into sin. In this example, we also see, we can easily take our husbands down with us.
Priscilla is not the only good wife in the bible nor is Eve the only wife in scripture to harm her husband, but let's take a look at ourselves. The question begs to be asked, “Which wife am I?”
Something to think about...
*What are some ways that I can be good to my husband?
*How can I support my husband in ministry or business?
*Am I doing anything that could be harmful to my husband?
*Is there anything I am not doing that could eventually cause my husband harm?
*Do I try to influence my husband's decisions for selfish reasons?
*Do I intentionally deceive my husband?
*Do I buy things and hide them from him?
*Do I undermine his discipline of the children?
*Do I encourage the children to respect my husband?
*Do I frustrate him through disrespect and disobedience?
*Do I do anything behind my husband's back?
*Am I open and honest with him in everything?
*Do I respect his God given authority in our home?
JESUS CHRIST IS LORD