How would you take these two Scriptures concerning marriage and put them together in one illustration?
“You husbands must give honor to your wives.” 1 Peter 3:7, NLT
“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:22, ESV
Author and pastor James Ford puts these two directives together in an unusual word-picture that he calls the “Parity Principle.” Here is how it works:
The husband is to put his wife “on a pedestal,” so to speak. Just as a man might put a treasured heirloom on a pedestal of honor, so the husband is to esteem his wife and attach high value to her. When the wife is on a pedestal, the couple is not face-to-face.
However, …
The wife is “to bow,” so to speak, to her husband. When the woman on the pedestal bows in respect to the man who raised her to a place of honor, the couple is now face-to-face in healthy relationship.
What do you think of that picture?
0 Comments