p. 7 | HUSBANDS by A. Smith

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 29, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 35.

HUSBANDS.

By A. Smith

"Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Gen. 3:16. But God never intended that a man should rule his wife arbitrarily. The apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it." Eph. 5:25.

A true husband will be gentlemanly toward his wife. How can a true woman love a man whom she can not respect? and how can she respect a man who is arbitrary and brutal in his conduct toward her or her children? In the domain of love, respect, and honor, she has a right to equality with him, and she often proves to be his peer. It is a shame that there should ever be occasion for a true wife to tremble in fear of a storm of reproach or wrathful conduct on the part of her husband, because, perhaps unavoidably, she sometimes fails in some domestic duty. When they were first married, he would have silenced his wife's apologies for such things with fond caresses, and an assurance that for her dear sake the misfortune afforded him much pleasure, as an occasion for showing his sympathy. It is much better to let some of the sweetness run through the entire married life than to quaff all the nectar in the honeymoon, and drain the bitter dregs in after years.

A husband who is unappreciative of his wife's little efforts to please, and is harsh and unkind in the domestic circle, is sowing seed that will yield to him a harvest of tares in years to come.

The Bible says, "Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which He [God] hath given thee under the sun." Eccl. 9:9. To live joyfully is to live a life full of joy.

Husbands, do you think that Jesus would treat anybody, especially one of His humble, loving, trusting followers, as some of you treat your wives? You ought to be too noble-minded, even if you are not a Christian, to betray the trust and confidence of a pure, true woman.

When a man and woman accept each other as husband and wife, each has a right to expect that the other has never, even once, committed the act of fornication or adultery. There are, doubtless, confessions of wrong upon this point that must be made between some husbands and wives before they can enter the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." Matt. 5:8.

No doubt much of the infelicity of married life arises from excessive indulgence of the lower passions. A man may be drunken with such excess as certainly as he can be with the cares of this life, or with intoxicating drinks. No drunkard has eternal life abiding in him.

"Restrain the passions' lawless riot; Devoted to domestic quiet, Be wisely gay. So shall ye, spite of age's fiat, Resist decay." A. SMITH.