How to Honor Your Husband: Are We Thirsty for Honor?

by Marilynn Chadwick

The word honor calls to mind virtues like integrity and honesty. To honor someone is to treat them with admiration or respect. Over the next four weeks, David and I will explore honor from a biblical point of view. Plus, we will give practical tips on how you can begin to honor your husband or wife and create a culture of honor in your own home.

Several years ago, David’s beloved college basketball coach, North Carolina’s legendary Dean Smith, passed away. Next to his own father, David says Smith was the most significant man in his life. Even superstar Michael Jordan called Smith his “second father.” Along with great basketball, Coach Smith taught David about honor.

When I first met my basketball player-turned-preacher husband, I was a University of Georgia girl and a die-hard football fan. Basketball, not so much. But I loved David, and I grew to love basketball. After David introduced us for the first time, Coach Smith sent me a handwritten note welcoming me to the “Carolina Family.” He always remembered my alma mater and my college major. He even knew our children by name. Seriously. Who does that?

David had the privilege of delivering the opening invocation in Coach Smith’s public memorial service in the Dean Smith Center popularly known as the Dean Dome. Thousands of fans, students, faculty, and coaching colleagues, along with the roughly 200 former lettermen, gathered to pay their respects.

Public reaction to Dean Smith’s passing seemed to convey a nostalgic yearning for role models, for dads, and for men of honor. I was inspired to write an editorial honoring Coach Smith. I reflected on his impact and encouraged readers to appreciate the good guys in their own lives.

A prominent defense attorney sent me a handwritten note reminiscing about how his dad had been such an honorable man. A former mayor, a federal judge, and a bank president each shared stories of the honorable men who had shaped their lives. Young moms wrote to tell me about their “amazing husbands” and vowed to be more intentional to honor them. Had I touched a nerve?

Maybe it’s because honor is lacking in our homes. Families today are in trouble. Studies show the majority of divorces are now initiated by women. Honor was God’s idea in the first place—especially in marriage. No wonder we’re thirsty for this forgotten virtue. Perhaps it’s time for the church to spark a movement of honor in our homes, our communities, and our world.

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!