Wives Submit Yourselves Unto Your Own Husbands

A relationship with God is not a one way thing. We speak to God through prayer and he speaks to us through certain kinds of guidance and phenomena. These include but are not limited to the use of scripture. As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. This Spirit is also the Spirit of truth, the Comforter who our Lord mentioned in John 14.

The Bible does not tell anyone exactly who to marry. It is through discernment that a certain man and woman recognize each other as their lifelong happiness partner.

Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is reputed as being a polymath who studied the entire field of human knowledge. Anthropology and psychology seem to be among his favourite fields of study. And his book of Ethics contains nuance about the structure of human relationships. Part 8 is called The Kinds Of Friendship and Part 9 is called The Grounds Of Friendship. Any born again Christian couple who have been married and divorced will probably agree that the sixty-six book Bible does not explain every important thing that individuals need to know about human relationships, especially the one called marriage. The Penguin Dictionary of Proverbs says : Marriage is a lottery. Next to no wife a good wife is best. Beware of Had I Wist. The paradox here is that the Bible says Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing (Proverbs 18:22).

Aristotle's Ethics is not a substitute for the Bible but it can function as a complement to it. And a paragraph below summarizes the contents of Part 8 of the book. I recommend that you read the Penguin Version (ISBN 0140 4405 50). Part 8 has 28 pages and Part 9 has 26 pages.

The Penguin Dictionary of Proverbs contains approximately 6,000 proverbs listed under 188 subtitles including Friends God Happiness Love Marriage Proverbs and Women. The section called Marriage contains 160 proverbs under 22 separate headings including : Its advantages, Its risks, Its inevitability, The need for caution, The importance of material well-being, The dowry, Choosing a partner, The ideal time, The in-laws, Marriage and love. The section called Proverbs says : Time passes away but sayings remain. A good maxim is never out of season. Maxims are the condensed good sense of nations. The genius, wit and spirit of a nation are discovered in its proverbs.

SUMMARY OF PART 8 OF ARISTOTLE'S ETHICS (28 pages) 1 Friendship is a necessity. What constitutes friendship ? 2 The object and implications of affection. 3 Three kinds of friendship. Friendship based on utility. Friendship based on pleasure. Perfect friendship is based on goodness. 4 The inferior kinds are less enduring and are not confined to the good. 5 Friendship as a state, as an activity and as a feeling. 6 Qualified and superficial friendship. 7 Friendship between unequals. 8 In friendship loving is more important than being loved. 9 Friendship and the community 10 The different kinds of constitution. Analogous relations in the state and in the household. 11 Friendship and justice in these various associations. 12 Affection in various degrees of relationship 13 Friendship and conflicting claims between equals. How to estimate the value of a service. 14 Conflicting claims between unequals.

For more information about the value of Complementary Wisdom read my other sermon called That Is Good That Does Us Good.

George Warner