Worthy of Respect

DEVOTION
EPHESIANS
WORTHY OF RESPECT

Eph 5:25-33
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32 This is a profound mystery — but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
NIV
Well this is the third idea from these same words of God which I should deal with. These words really seem not to speak to me as the husband or a man of God but rather to my wife telling her to respect me. But I do not think it is that simply. Is she required to respect me if I am not worthy of respect? Is is required to respect me if I am a mean overbearing husband? Is she required to respect me if I were out doing evil acts? I would have to say no to all of these. Those words telling her to respect me are preceded with words telling me I must love her as I love myself. Now, I must ask myself the obvious question here. How much do I love myself? After all the quality and quantity of my love for her seems to be completely dependent on the quality and quantity of love I have for myself. I surely cannot live my life hating myself. Of course, I don’t but rather I think I actually do sort of like me. Now I am not in favor of some of the things I might do, I get upset with myself when I fall short of the standard God has established for me to live by. But that does not mean I do not love me. I would not do anything intentionally to harm myself or cause myself pain and suffering. I would not hurt myself or mistreat myself by choice. I believe I would, at least most always, do for myself what is for my good, my pleasure, and my overall benefit. So then I should have that same attitude of my heart toward my wife. And if I do, I see absolutely no reason why she would have any trouble giving me the due respect she is commanded to give me. I would be worthy of her respect.