The Power of an Example

by Gilbert Alexander

When God planned marriage, He planned a helper for man, a woman, a wife (Genesis 2:18-24). Hers is a role of subjection to her husband (Ephesians 5:22), a role of obedience to her husband (Titus 2:1-6). She is taught to be wise and careful in judgment (discreet), to be pure (chaste, not chased), to adorn her life with good works and holy living (I Peter 3:1-6), to be a worker at home (homemaker, NKJV) (Titus 2:5), to accept her responsibility in rearing their children along with her husband (I Timothy 5:14). When a young woman contemplates marriage, she should consider carefully the relationship she is planning to enter and also consider the man to whom she is thinking of placing herself in submission. It is extremely hard to be in subjection to a husband who is selfish, ungodly, and disrespectful of others.

When a wife becomes a mother, her duties greatly increase. Proper rearing of children takes much time and effort. They are dependents in every sense of the word. They are books full of blank pages, and the mother has a tremendous and vitally important role in the writing of the pages of each child's life. Consider Hannah (I Samuel 1,2) and Lois and Eunice (II Timothy 1:3-5). Godly wives and their godly husbands share the duty of rearing godly children, setting before them an unmistakable example of proper marriage, holy living, and true love for one another and for their children.

A good wife is a precious jewel and the greatest asset her husband has among humans. Every bride should aim at being such an asset through diligence, love, and godliness. Being a good wife, like being a good husband, is no quirk or accident. True goodness is developed through study, prayer, and diligence in one's conduct at all times. Its foundation is God's Truth, which establishes faith made perfect by obedience (Romans 10:17; James 2:22). This wicked world in which we live daily desperately needs the influence and contribution of wives devoted to God and therefore devoted to their husbands and their children. This is the virtue of Christianity on display. Let us never underestimate the power of an example.