Married Monday: Communicating Respect

   Each month I am going to take a general topic and break it down each week this month I am elaborating on communication. I wrote this post a few weeks ago sharing some tips on how to communicate in marriage. This week I am going to talk about communicating respect.

   The definition of to respect is to “admire (someone or something) deeply, as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements.” 

   

   Respect is a cornerstone to a marriage. In the Bible it says “Each one of you also must love his wife as as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 ; which in my opinion is more than enough reason to do it. Also in my opinion I believe that loving someone means you respect them as well so this speaks to both a Husband and Wife. 

   Telling your husband you respect him is nice and he probably enjoys hearing it. But if he doesn’t ever see it he will just question the statement. Actions speak louder than words and that is never more true than for respect. Here are a few ways that you can show your respect.

Build him up. It is easy to cut him down and point out each flaw but let’s face it he already knows them all just like you know yours. So instead take the time and point out the good things he does and is good at.

Trust him. He needs to know that you trust his decisions. This also includes not arguing with him over those decisions or minor things day to day.  Even if you do trust him arguing shows him that you don’t think his decisions are good enough for your family. Since we are told in Ephesians 5:23 that the Husband is to lead the household then we  as wives must trust and follow his decisions.  

Honor him. Never speak negatively of him to anyone. Don’t correct him in public, or proceed to tell him why he is wrong in front of people. This will show him your respect even more than ever saying it will, he knows you have his back and never has to worry about what you are saying about him.

Be thankful and Don’t Complain. He works hard for you, don’t ever take it for granted. Say Thank You always. No one wants to be around someone who complains constantly, so make an effort to keep complaints to the minimum.

Pray for him. And let him know you do. It lets him know you care about his walk with Christ. As you pray for him let God do the work that he needs to in him as well.

TALK with him. Remember when you were young and you would call up your best friend just to talk about your day or nothing at all, well you should be talking to your husband like this all the time. He should be your best friend. The only phone calls or text conversations you have together should not be about errands that need ran, things that need fixed or the kids.

Forgive him. God has forgiven us for our sins both big and small. We are called to forgive as well and this is never more important than in a marriage. If you’re not forgiving him for something then  you are hurting your marriage and yourself, forgiveness will help to start a healing process. Next week I will be discussing this further.

   These were written from a wives point of view but can easily be switched for a husband to show his wife by taking him out and using her. As wives we are called to respect directly from God but this does not mean that a husband should not respect his wife as well.

   Next week I will be talking about Communicating Forgiveness. I hope this week has given you a few ideas on how else to communicate your respect to your spouse. Have a great week.

P.S. I love to read comments and talk with you all. Share your thoughts or anything I may have missed. 


Other post in this series.
Communicating
Communicating Forgiveness
Communicating Disagreements