THE NEED FOR MUTUAL RESPECT BETWEEN COUPLES

What is mutual respect?

Mutual means having the same feelings one for the other.

Respect means the quality or state of being esteemed.

Mutual respect is the recognition that two or more individuals have valuable/important contributions to make in a relationship.

It's been said that respect is reciprocal, that is the naked truth.

Between a husband and wife there should be mutual respect.

It's true both in Africa culture and the bible, indicate that women should respect and submit to their husband in the Lord. As true as that is, the bible says men should handle their wives with care, so that their prayers would be not hindered.

I hear people talking of women submitting, obeying and giving respect to their husbands but hear less about how husbands should take care of their wives and love them as christ love the church.

Peter 3:7

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

The bible even enjoins men to honor their wives which to me involves respect.

Which means God wants mutual respect between couples.

Women should learn to listen to godly demands from their husbands while husbands should learn to honor their wives.

If mutual respect is missing between husband and wife it can hamper the marrital relationship.

So I advise that a husband and wife should learn to honor/respect one another.

They should learn to communicate with each other without being rude.

We all know that marriage is a union of two adults therefore both should be treated with respect, age difference not withstanding.

It is wrong to shout/insult /disrespect your spouse in the public.

When couples don't respect one another

irrespective of gender and age difference, emotional abuse is inevitable.

When emotional abuse set in their love life begins to dwindle.

We should all know our spouses are not our children or parents, so we should learn to treat them as our life partners and friends and not like they are our children or we are their parents

irrespective of our cultural beliefs.

-JOY EJISUN