1 Peter 3:1-7
Wives and Husbands
1 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
St. Peter words to wives and husbands have some similarities to St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians in chapter five, verses twenty two to thirty three...These writings have probably become more into a heated discussion as women have gained more rights and more equality to man as time has moved on into "modern times"...Both Saints were not trying to undermine the role of the wife or the husband...
Spiritual marriage is out of love...Many of us marry in a Christian church, and we give tell God our vows...The priority of this true spiritual love, both the husband and wife, puts Jesus and God first, in their lives...Their vows in the church, and the Bible's teachings of love are included in those Christian marriages...Jesus is the Bible...Jesus, Paul, and Peter all taught this spiritual type of love...
Submission can mean to follow, to support, to be considerate, and to respect...All three of these concepts are necessary in a good marriage...Submission was not written to be a negative word and to be uncomplimentary and be demeaning to the wife...Jesus did not demean others...Jesus never taught this...St. Peter knew Jesus personally...He knows Jesus showed no favoritism among people...
Jesus, in His Parable of Least and Best seats when He is at the Pharisee's house, teaches humility (Luke 14:1-14)...Jesus teaches in this parable, when we are invited to a wedding to take a lesser seat, and do not take the seats that are for the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you...If we, out of our pride take the best seat and the host moves us to a lesser seat we maybe humiliated...But if we take the least of seats, at the wedding, then the host may honor us in the place of our friends and ask us to move up to a better seat...For whoever exalts himself, will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted...Pride can get into a marriage and be damaging...But if we keep Jesus in mind in our marriage, we remember His humbleness and humility...We can realize that following, supporting, considerate, and respecting is very important...If one party in the marriage, whether husband or wife seek to be domineering may hurt the relationship and marriage...He did not teach pomp and circumstance...He came to Jerusalem on a donkey...He is subtle and gentle...His yoke is easy and His burden is light...When He is in our marriage, He does not teach us that one is to lead the other, but He continues to teach us to love one another...