Let’s go way back.
The world is not yet six days old. God has spoken the land animals into existence. He has made a man, Adam, from the dust of the earth, and has breathed life into him.
Adam has classified the animals, and has made a sad discovery. There is no other creature like him. He is alone. It is the first thing in the new world that is not right.
“It is not good for man to be alone,” God says. “Let’s make him a helper.”
So God puts Adam to sleep, removes a rib, and personally crafts Eve, the perfect complement and perfect helper for the lonely man.
Although she was made the perfect helper and placed in the perfect setting, Eve made a mistake.
One day she wandered away. Apart from her husband, she found herself in a conversation with the devil, who tempted her to disobey God.
She talked too much, and came to the wrong conclusion. Then she opened her mouth and ate the forbidden fruit.
Adam followed, ate of the fruit of his own will, and, well, the rest truly is history.
Many people know this account of the fall of man. But many ignore that it was a deceived Eve who started our downward tumble. She was the one who gave the fruit to her husband, and when he ate, the entire race fell. Scripture later says that “by one man [Adam] sin entered the world, and death by sin.”
And so it has been from the foundation of the world: when wives take matters into their own hands, husbands pay.
Modern wives have quite forgotten this. We have adopted an attitude of 50/50 in marriage, with the idea that each partner is equal and autonomous. We have a contract mentality about this divine institution, thinking we can break the contract without consequence.
We wives have also adopted an independent spirit, thinking that we can say and do things in direct opposition to our husbands and it’s okay.
But it’s not. Just as the deceived Eve set her husband up to be the “fall guy,” a wife can still wreak havoc when she speaks and acts against the stated goals and desires of her husband.
It’s a universal problem, really. I see it in my house far more than I should.
We wives need to honor our husbands.
Like Eve, we often do that best by keeping our mouths shut.
(This column was inspired by a politcian’s wife, who undermined her husband’s honor and integrity by supporting the candidate from another party.)
