How to Honor Your Wife: What Does It Mean to Honor Your Wife?

by David Chadwick

The word honor has become missing in action in the English vocabulary. Oh yes, sadly, we sometimes hear about an “honor killing.” Most often, that’s when a child rejects a certain faith tradition. The father feels he must kill the child for the sake of honor in his home. There is also “honor among thieves.” They still seem to hold the word honor in high esteem. The Boy Scouts still begin their pledge with “On my honor, I will do my duty.” Some schools still emphasize an honor code. But in reality, the word honor isn’t much talked about today.

The importance of the word honor has not been abated in the Bible. Children are to honor their mothers and fathers (Exodus 20:12). Rulers in the government (Romans 13:7) and the elders who preach, teach, and lead the church are to receive a double honor (1Timothy 5:17). Widows who serve others (1 Timothy 5:3) and friends who labor for us (Philippians 2:29) should also be given honor because of their personal importance in our lives. Christians are to honor one another, even above self (Romans 12:10). When Christians behave with honor, it should draw spiritual skeptics toward faith in God (1 Peter 2:12).

And honor is supposed to be given by a husband to his wife (1 Peter 3:7). He is to honor her as one with enormous value. In this verse, Peter says that a wife is to be treated as a “weaker vessel.” I don’t think this idea expresses inferiority at all. I believe Peter used this phrase to

describe a fine, delicate piece of pottery, like porcelain. The wife is supposed to be like a priceless vase in her husband’s hand. He is to treat her with great care and gentle esteem, tenderly showing to her the enormous value she holds in his life.

What does the Bible mean when it tells us to honor our wives? Let me put it in a way our culture can understand. She is a trophy—a person dearly prized. She is the husband’s ultimate, permanent trophy bride! When you look at your wife, you can’t believe she is a part of your life. You consider it a high privilege to be married to her. You want others to know the value she has in your life. You are honored she is your wife.

This series over the next two weeks is a bite-sized overview of a book I wrote called “Eight Great Ways to Honor Your Wife.” My wife, Marilynn, just completed two weeks of a series entitled “Eight Great Ways to Honor Your Husband” after the book she wrote. We both are trying to recapture the significance and importance of this word honor—especially in the marriage relationship between a husband and a wife. Join us as we explore God’s design for marriage.

This series is adapted from David Chadwick’s book, Eight Great Ways to Honor Your Wife. To download your free PDF copy of the book, please visit our website by clicking here!

How to Honor Your Husband: Create a Culture of Honor

by Marilynn Chadwick

I’m convinced the tone I set in our home by honoring David inspired our children to honor him and each other. It feels good to get respect. To be honored. But it also feels incredibly good to honor someone else. We find that as we give honor, we get it back.

But giving honor, especially in a world which has largely forgotten this concept, doesn’t come easily. It takes practice. I’ve learned that home is a wonderful laboratory for cultivating honor. My hope is that the culture of honor we create will spill over into the culture around us.

I believe our world today is thirsty for honor, as evidenced by a conversation I had some years ago. “I don’t enjoy going to lunch with my work friends anymore,” my young friend confided over coffee. “The conversation always turns into husband bashing,” she added. Her own marriage wasn’t perfect, she admitted. “I’m a very transparent person,” she smiled. “So I try to be real. But I don’t want to dishonor my husband. And I want my friends to know I truly love being married to him.”

As we talked, she came to the conclusion that it was okay for her to be honest with her friends about some of her own marriage struggles. She could share a few of the positive ways she and her husband have discovered to work through their issues. But she resolved to do this in a manner that would honor both Christ and her husband.

I loved my friend’s heart for her husband and for the Lord. I felt sure she would be a winsome witness to her friends about what it means to have a godly marriage. And more importantly, what it means to follow Christ.

That conversation was just one of many I had with women of all ages while writing Eight Great Ways to Honor Your Husband. Even today, I still yearn to help wives reclaim the lost art of honoring their husbands.

Perhaps it’s time to take a fresh look at this age-old virtue. We can start by honoring God. “Those who honor me, I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30). Then, let’s explore practical ways to honor our husbands. Remember, the world is watching us. And deep down, I believe they’re thirsty for honor—especially honor in marriage.

This series is adapted from Marilynn Chadwick’s book, Eight Great Ways to Honor Your Husband. To download your free PDF copy of the book, please visit our website by clicking here!

How to Honor Your Husband: The Training Wheels of Honor

by Marilynn Chadwick

Honor is not a subject you hear much about these days. If anything, we've become much more accustomed to disrespect and dishonor. The urban slang for disrespect, or “dis,” made its way into everyday language. Most any child can tell you what it means to “dis” someone. Or worse, to be “dissed.”

Honor. Simply put, the word means to treat someone with respect or admiration. It has to do with qualities like honesty, integrity and dignity. The biblical version of honor is much weightier. Even lofty. It speaks to the precious worth of the person being honored and is related to words like glory, worship or prize.

Most of us yearn to be treated with respect. We benefit not only from receiving honor but also from giving it to others.

God set the bar low so that even a child can show honor. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2,3 NIV) (Exodus 20:12). You might call this the “the training wheels of honor.”

When children honor their earthly parents, they begin to grasp what it means to honor their heavenly Father.

Perhaps it’s time to recapture this age-old virtue. We can start by honoring God. But let's do so with a sense of expectancy. For God himself makes this bold promise: “Those who honor me, I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30).

This series is adapted from Marilynn Chadwick’s book, Eight Great Ways to Honor Your Husband. To download your free PDF copy of the book, please visit our website by clicking here!