The Role of a Godly Wife (Pt.2)

(Part 2) 

“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”-Genesis 2:18

To understand the role of a Godly wife we have to look back in Genesis to discover God’s heart in the creation of Eve. When we casually read this verse, the word “helper” can carry with it a connotation of weakness; like she is suppose to be the Robin to his Batman. However, in reality, as a wife I am not my husband’s sidekick, but his partner. I am more like the Wonder Woman to his Superman; each of us using our gifts, talents, strengths and interests to move forward together, as a team. 

Translated from the original Hebrew the word helpmeet can be broken down into two parts:  the word helper implies: one who has power or strength to give help and the word meet translates as like or equal to. Thus husbands and wives were each created equally in the image of God, with our own set of strengths to lend to the other. 

In our marriage we work together, as a team, to pursue God’s will, plan and calling for our life and our family, but I still have an individual part to play. As a wife I have responsibilities, not mandates established by mankind, but a pattern for my life established by God’s Holy Word. 

The first responsibility that I have is to initiate and nurture my own relationship with God. We read in Genesis Chapter 2 how God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep while He created Eve. So there was a period of time before God presented Eve to Adam that Eve was alone with God. We don’t know how much time that it was, only that it was enough time for her to establish an intimate bond with her Creator. As Godly wives we too must seek our own personal relationship with God. We cannot expect our husbands to carry us along on his coattails, but we must get in the Word, get in God’s presence, and find out what He is saying to us personally. 

As a Godly wife I also have the responsibility to understand God’s established order in our home. 

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”-Ephesians 5:22-24

The topic of submission in marriage is always a sensitive subject. Even though Ephesians 5:21 states that we are to submit to one another in the fear of God, it seems that the topic of submission focuses primarily on wives.  That is why it was important to reinforce the value and strength of a Godly wife in a marriage relationship. However, in any relationship whether it be work, military, political or family; someone ultimately must carry the responsibility of the decisions made. If a decision is an epic failure, the responsibility can sometimes be shared but other times it must rest on someone’s shoulders. So, how does biblical submission look in our home? Whenever we are facing a big decision, my husband and I carefully discuss and talk through the details. He shares his thoughts/opinions and I share mine. Sometimes it may be an area that he knows I have more knowledge and experience and he defers to me; sometimes it’s the other way around. However, there are times that we reach an impasse, where we, for whatever reason, cannot reach a mutual agreement. This is where I look to God’s Word for direction. In those moments I yield to his discretion and to the authority God entrusted to him as the spiritual head of our home (1 Corinthians 11:3). Together we pursue what he believes is God’s direction for our family. I may not always like it, but I always trust him because I know he has sought God in prayer over it; and I trust that if I honor God’s Word; God will be faithful to us. 

Tandy Burr

Dayspring Community Church