A Wife's Importance

     What follows is a passage from one of E.W. Kenyon's books, The Father and His Family.  It gives the essence of what we are about to study in detail:

           "We know that today no nation rises above its womanhood, that few men are purer than their wife or mother.

           We know that the motherhood and the wifehood of the land give us our homes.

           Men may turn drunkards and debauchers and defame their marriage vows, but if the wives and mothers stand true, the home remains inviolate and children grow up clean, pure and reverent; but where the mother is a careless woman, few of her children ever stand the test of the world's temptations." 1 (see Notes)

           A comment made by J.E. McFayden, a Scottish theologian (1870-1933); bible translator; writer and scholar of Israel, the psalmists, and Old Testament prophets; and professor of Old Testament theology at the University of Glasgow, is also telling:

      "All the Hebrew prophets knew that for the temper and quality of a civilization, the women are greatly responsible.  A country is largely what their women make it; if they are careless or unwomanly, the country is on the road to ruin."  Amos 4:1-3 prophesies this, and the overall state of our nation, particularly its young people, bears it out.

      What sobering admonitions.  Women have been searching for equality, but a woman's role far transcends it, for she is the very foundation upon which her family's life is built.  And as the family unit is the "DNA" of society as a whole, the health and well-being of the world in which we live depends on her, first and foremost. 

A Wife's Role Within the Marriage Relationship

     A woman might do many different things in her life, but the role of wife and mother is a God-given one.  It is a cornerstone of society.  When a woman assumes this role seriously and exercises it well, her children will excel, both she and her husband will be the best they can be, and their life together will be prosperous in every way.  But with the many choices now available to women, the role of "wife" in its traditional sense has become less and less appealing.  Women may have had personal goals and desires outside of their responsibilities as wives and mothers in the past, but in this age where these can be readily fulfilled, women are reluctant to abandon or postpone their own plans in order to take on what is often viewed as a secondary role.

     Within a marriage relationship, God planned a different picture for His creation, "woman," than what has transpired for many in our society.  He intended women's lives to be rich, full and rewarding as wives and mothers, even after the fall of Adam and Eve.  As woman is connected to man, she wasn't to be left unknowledgable and stripped of her own identity.  Rather, both before and after the Fall, her position has always been one of absolute completion for her husband; to be an asset to him in every way.  God created male and female to mate, or marry, and in addition to procreation, to excel and move forward in society together as a unit.  When husband and wife unite as a team, pooling their God-given resources and capabilities, and then function together in harmony within God's marriage structure, they reach their maximum potential as one entity within the human race.  Together, they form a whole unit of mankind.

     When God, through the Apostle Paul in his letter to Titus, instructed women to be "keepers at home" (see Titus 2:5, KJV), he didn't mean that they were never to stretch beyond basic housekeeping.  What God intended was for a wife to be support to her husband as he went about the business of providing for their family; that she should care for home base in their life together and not covet her husband's role.  He intended a wife to be an asset to her husband; that she should develop her talents and capabilities and use them to punctuate his own.  Rather than having her own "agenda," a wife is to work together with her husband in accomplishing common goals.  All of this translates differently for every couple; however, any and every couple who works together in this way accomplishes much more as a whole than what they might do separately.  The business of life:  making a living, running a serene and well-organized household, and bringing up children requires two people working harmoniously as one.    

A Wife as a Reflection of Her Husband

     A wife is a reflection of her husband; his station in life, his dignity.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:7 that woman is the expression of man's glory -- his majesty, pre-eminence -- as a prelude to Christ's bride, the Church, reflecting His glory and honor (see Revelation 19:7).  Even in earthly kingdoms, a queen represents the splendor and honor of her king's station. 

     A tangible example of God's intended role for wives might be seen in families of the nobility.  Back in the Middle Ages and well into the 1800's when women were expected to focus on home and family and, in some societies, were even denied any education beyond rudimentary skills, daughters of royals were educated as thoroughly as sons, to equip them should they ever have to fill a governing position on the throne.  In the same way, the wife of a nobleman is prepared to handle graciously and capably her responsibilities in dealing with dignitaries, heads of state, and those matters which he deems necessary in order to complete the agenda of his rank.  Such a woman must be capable, confident and her mind well-developed.  She is a fully-developed person in her own right and a total completion for her husband.  Comparatively, as any woman in society chooses her husband thoughtfully based upon her own qualities, abilities and needs, her supporting role will be a fulfilling one.  It will allow her to be the best she can be, and her husband will always feel supported by her.