Want A Better Wife? - Be A Better Husband!

Want a Better Wife? - Be a Better Husband!

Ephesians 5:25-33

Sermon by Rick Crandall

McClendon Baptist church - June 3, 2007

*I know at least one husband who said he wasn’t coming today, because he didn’t want to get preached to about being a better husband. Men I am not here to beat up on you this morning. I am here to show you the possibilities. We can be better husbands. We can make a positive difference that will span the generations until the Lord returns.

*I also want you to know that I am preaching to myself just as much as I am preaching to you. When we got married 32 years ago, my middle name was “Clueless.” My first name was “Clueless” too! But over the years and especially over the last few years, I have learned how to be a better husband. And God’s not through with me yet! So do you want a better wife? Be a better husband. God’s Word will show us how.

1. First, love her like the Lord loves us.

*God clearly tells us to do this in vs. 25, where His Word says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it.” But how does the Lord love the church? How does He love us?

1-Jesus’ love is unselfish.

*There is so much selfishness in the world today. Last month a billboard in Chicago caught national attention. The ad showed a scantily dressed woman’s torso on one side and the abs and chest of a superiorly fit male on the other side. The two photos were divided by the billboard’s main message, "Life’s Short. Get A Divorce."

*Corri Fetman and Kelly Garland are the divorce attorneys who placed the ad. Thankfully, there was an uproar from the community, and the ad came down after a week, but only because of a technicality. And the two lawyers reported a big boost in their business. (1)

*There is so much selfishness in the world today, but that’s nothing new. Three hundred and fifty years ago, Samuel Butler was writing about a married couple he knew and said: “It was very good of God to let Carlyle and Mrs. Carlyle marry one another. And so make only two people miserable instead of four.” (2)

*Our selfishness breeds misery all around us. And sooner or later, we will suffer the consequences too. Can you imagine Jesus being selfish? Never! Jesus always acted in the best interest of others, and that is how He wants you to treat your wife.

2-The Lord’s love is unselfish and unconditional.

*We would be in terrible shape if we had to earn the Lord’s love, because not one of us could ever deserve it, but Jesus loves us anyway. And we must have the same kind of love for our wives. They are not perfect. Of course neither are we.

*As Aaron Burgess said, “Sometimes marriage is a pleasure. Sometimes it’s a duty.” Sometimes marriage is fireworks at Magic Kingdom in Disney World. Sometimes it’s a sparkler in the back yard. Some days your wife will be Cinderella. Some days she will be the wicked step-mother, but that’s O.K. because you aren’t always Prince Charming either. (3)

-Our job is to love our wives on the bad days as well as the good.

3-The Lord’s love is unconditional. Then it is patient, kind and gentle.

*Pastor Jerry Shirley once said, “These are stressful times in which we live. And almost everyday you hear about another home where the string has snapped.

*For example: did you know that an act of domestic violence is committed every 15 seconds in America? Scary, isn’t it? In one fourth of all marriages, violence occurs at least occasionally. . .” (4)

*Physical violence against your wife should be unthinkable, but some men beat their wives down with their words. Let me ask you, has the Lord ever treated you that way? Of course not and He never will.

*We need to love our wives with the same kind of agape love that Jesus has for us. 1 Corin 13:4-5 described it this way in the New Living Translation: “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.”

*Watch what you say men. Some things just don’t have to be said.

*Years ago, if Mary cooked something I didn’t like, I thought it was my duty to tell her about it, like I was grading her cooking or something. Not a good idea.

-These day I don’t like everything she cooks. But I find something that I like a lot, and keep my mouth shut about the rest.