Witnessing Without Words Only Works In Marriage

¹ Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, ² when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.

Simple Submission

What’s the quickest way for a wife to win over her husband to God?  When she submits to him as leader of the home, he will be won over.  No amount of words can replace the simple act of reverential submission.  When a wife submits to her husband, there is a special provision that God makes for her so that her husband’s heart connects to her and God.

Won Without Words

When a husband’s wife submits to him, he feels appreciated and fulfilled.  His desire to step up to the plate as the head of the household is aroused, and he will be convicted by the Holy Spirit if he does not know God, as her Godly behavior will point out his less than Godly behavior.  He will be in a position to be won over by her conduct.  No amount of words can convince a man, but the simple act of submission of his wife can do this.  He will become curious as he is convicted, and ask what happened?  His heart will then be open to the words that were previously merely bouncing off of him.  While this does not guarantee that a man will respond correctly, it certainly sets the stage for the Spirit of God to prepare his heart for what both you and God desire – his obedience!

Beautiful Behavior

Actions speak louder than words.  When a wife acts in a Godly manner, she is able to influence her husband in ways that were previously unavailable to her.  He will be willing to listen as he ponders her behavior, and may be more open to coming to church, reading from the Bible, and other spiritual activities that nagging and gentle rebuking had no effect in the past.  It is so true that you catch more bees with honey than with vinegar…

Powerful Purity

When a wife is acting in purity, it does something to a man.  It awakens a desire to be worthy of that purity.  A man may even break down in shame when his wife is acting in purity and he is not.  He may very well need to see the proper example before he is able to start desiring purity in his own life.  And while there are cases where a man may simply reject God as he sees his wife display purity in her life, this will give him every opportunity to see out God as the pattern of holiness is displayed before him.

Respectful Reverence

And men do respond to respect.  It is their love language.  Just as women need to feel loved in order to grow and prosper in God, men need to feel respected in order to grow properly and prosper in God.  A man will be influenced more by the respect of his wife than a million words by her in helpful assistance.  Respect will resonate within him, and allow the wife to connect with him in a way that she may not have been able to connect before.  It opens a door and shows him that He needs to respect God and his wife in return.  That usually begins the process of reconciliation between him and God.

A Qualifying Question

Wives, let’s ask a question:  Am I respecting my husband in such a way that he sees how he should respect God?

A short prayer of preparation:

Father in Heaven, You are able to do more than we could ever desire.  Please help me to respect others in the way that they need to be respected.  Help me to respect You as the best and highest example of love for men.  Help me to live a life that is submitted to You and to others.  Help me to overcome any difficulties that I may have that would hinder my ability to submit to You and to others.  This I ask in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Want more?  Why not try A. B. Simpson or A. W. Tozer?