10 Ways to Honour, Love & Respect Your Husband
Most of us have heard the saying, ‘happy wives happy lives’ and while it may be true to some extent, men’s happiness within a marriage cannot be overlooked. It’s no surprise that despite the fact that men are the less emotional one in the relationship and are less likely to talk about their feelings, they do have them! Failing to honour love and respect our men results in them becoming unhappy within the marriage.
In a nutshell, good relationships are based on connection, respect, love and trust. Learn to build up your relationship by connecting with your husband in a way that honours, respects and shows your husband that he is a loved and valued member of the family. As a result you end up sending the message that ‘his happiness does matter.’
Below are ten ways to love, honour and respect your husband to make him happy.
1. Sexual Intimacy – sexual fulfillment is a major need men have. Make it a priority to enjoy regular intimacy with your spouse. Make an effort to take care of your appearance as most men like to feel attractive to their wives and also need to be attracted to their wives.
2. Eye Contact – Make eye contact wherever possible, particularly if your spouse is talking to you. Put things down, stop what you’re doing and give him your full attention. When sitting at the dinner table together make eye contact and have pleasant, intelligent conversation.
3. Take a genuine interest in the things your spouse likes – do things together that you both enjoy, but also learn to make compromises by taking part in some of the activities your spouse enjoys. For instance; if you don’t like the footy, you might opt to go along to a game to keep him company and while you’re at it, take the opportunity to learn more about the game.
4. Spend time alone together – make an effort to take time out together away from the kids and away from the cares of everyday life to build on your relationship. Do this on a date night or on a romantic weekend escape. Keep these special days strictly for recreation and fun.
5. Make him look forward to coming home – greet him with a smile and ask about his day. Kiss, embrace and show him that he’s loved with genuine affection. Your home environment needs to be a warm, friendly and a happy place to be.
6. Let your man be the head of the house – When a woman ‘wears the pants’ shes’ effectively telling him that he’s not good enough, that he doesn’t have what it takes and that she can do a better job. The bible in 1 Peter 3-7 clearly defines men as the head of the house, however, women are to submit to their husbands, but men are to be considerate and treat women with respect.
7. Pray for your husband – Pray for him but also pray together as a Christian couple whenever possible. Also acknowledge God in all your ways, forgive others and repent. Thank God for your husband. Pray for favour in his life, for Godly friends, for his job and relationship with Christ, for his protection and for the relationship with his children.
8. Speak lovingly, respectfully and kindly – Respect your man with kind and loving words. We ruin our relationship when we tear down our husbands with unkind words. Love requires an effort and it is a choice. Choose to love your man using loving, kind and respectful language. Don’t allow disrespect to make your relationship become toxic.
9. Become a parenting unit – You and your spouse need to be on the same team and on the same page when it comes to parenting your children. Kids cannot be allowed to come between parents. When they know they can, their actions will cause division. Never bring the kids into your arguments as this lack of respect for one another can erode your relationship.
10. Have realistic expectations & focus on the positives – Unrealistic expectations are cruel as they can never be met. Seeing your husband how God sees him can change the way you act and behave towards your husband. Check yourself to find out if you have any unrealistic expectations of your man. Be quick to apologise and do it earnestly. Be a good steward and be thrifty with hard earned money.
Life can get hectic, however relationships can also be destroyed when we spend time focusing outside of the relationship. Particularly when we begin to focus on our spouse’s negatives, leading us to become infuriated, unhappy and we may even begin to act out on those feelings. Whatever it is that we look for, we will find. Focus on the positives to experience a change of attitude towards your husband.
In my experience people are generally the happiest when they can count their blessings.
Ecclesiastes 7::20, 1 Corinthians 13:10
Sandra Ciminelli
Cred.Dip.Couns. (Christian)
Sources:
Bible Knowing Jesus – Human imperfection
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