Abusive husbands

[agua]

What do we do if we know a wife is being abused by her husband? Often we see a Christian wife told she must be submissive during abuse and, because her husband is her “head”, she should tolerate and suffer the situation without any affirmative action aside from prayer and long suffering. The position of headship in marriage brings great responsibility and any man who forsakes this needs counseling on the way God would have him treat his wife.

Eph 5:24-25 NKJV Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. (25) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,

1Pe 3:5-7 NKJV For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, (6) as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. (7) Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.


If a husband fails in this duty he is in opposition to God’s Word and needs to change his ways. An abusive husband, as head, owns the onus of proper conduct and must be brought to repentance. If you know of an abusive marriage be sure to give counsel/intervene and don’t tolerate/ignore it . Abuse of a woman is no different inside or outside marriage.


Don’t allow abuse under your watch.

 

[MsMree]

Yes agua, thank you.

Also readers, consider what you are thinking yourself and communicating to the world when you discuss abuse towards a woman in her marriage as -her- issue. When you tell her the things she should do to resolve it you are making it -her- issue. At best it is their issue, but in reality it is -his- issue. Abuse is taking advantage of power, abusive people are drawn to the power, they will not lay it down out of compassion or volition, they need to be re-educated about what is appropriate.

This is not an issue of undermining headship / submission at all though some seem to be scared it is. The biblical model for marriage is perfect, naturally. But abuse is outside of the biblical model, and requires carefully considered response.

There is a huge difference between serving a disagreeable, arumentative, unreasonable spouse (good) and submitting to a manipulative, violent, abusive spouse (bad).

Men, and women, consider what you would want for your own daughters and sisters.

 

[Strangederby]

There is no excuse for being abusive.

 

[mrsburroughs]

There is no excuse for being abusive.

i agree.. there is no excuse.

 

[Peace Seeker]

The verses already cited are commonly used when dealing with the subject of Christian marriage, and rightly so because they specifically address the issue.

I would just like to add that, for any situation in life, if we simply remembered to love one another and to do unto others as we would have them do to us, there would be no room for abuse. No in-depth scriptures or explanations needed.

 

[HisFollower]

When we refer to "fornication" we think of it only as exclusively to infidelity or "immoral behavior in relations". But it is a word that includes all manner of immoral behavior, which of course must needs include physical or mental abuse, because these also are immoral behavior´s.
In (1 Cor 7:12-15) the Holy Spirit of Truth speaking through Paul is referring to a divided home, and only if that unbelieving spouse accepts our Christianity is that spouse remaining faithful to the marriage.
But abuse of any kind is that spouses departure from the sanctity, or being faithful to the marriage, and we are not imprisoned to such, that we must remain, because that spouse has already departed from faithfulness to the marriage.
Our Lord tells us "except for fornication", which again is to say "except for immoral behavior": Christ does not condone abuse, it is unfaithful to the marriage.