If you read one thing this week…
Filed under {!-- ra:000000005408c7540000000038a4c171 --}{if 'If you read one thing this week...' == '52home' && category_name == '52home'} Biblical Womanhood {if:else} Biblical Womanhood {/if}...let it be this beautiful article by Douglas Wilson entitled “Superior Women”:
One of the central duties assigned to wives is that of respect (Ephesians 5:33). We should not forget what biblical respect looks like. It consists of a chaste way of life coupled with fear (1 Peter 3:2, 6), a meek and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:3–4), and thoroughgoing humility of demeanor (1 Timothy 2:9). This is no breezy, casual respect; the word is phobeo, meaning reverence or fear (Ephesians 5:33).
All this is in contrast to how the Bible describes a woman who is graced with wisdom and kindness. “A gracious woman retaineth honor: and strong men retain riches” (Proverbs 11:16, KJV). Just as riches flow to a strong man, so also honor flows to a gracious woman. So a woman is the crown and glory of her husband to the extent that she is a gracious woman. If she is, then she retains honor as one who has fulfilled her calling.
Doing this, she completes her husband: God has said that it is not good for him to be alone, but also that it would be better for him to be alone than to have an ungracious wife. A gracious woman completes her husband.
She reverences her husband, which is not a servile fear, but rather a wholesome and godly reverence. Anyone who thinks that this demeans women needs to get out more. She does not honor him the way a serf honors the king, but rather honors him the way a crown honors a king. A gracious woman honors her husband.
Read the entire thing at Desiring God.