The Power of Words in Marriage: A Call To Husbands

Marriage is a sacred institution designed by God to bring a man and a woman together as one flesh. It is a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church, and it is intended to bring glory to God. However, the entrance of sin into the world has perverted God's original design, particularly in the area of communication and how we as men have accepted societal norms when talking to our wife's.

Adam and Eve's failure and the entrance of sin gave Satan the opening he needed to pervert the things of God, particularly marriage. And the very first thing he distorted was language. Blame was introduced, deception flourished, and unity was destroyed.

As a husband, your words have the power to shape and mould your wife's perspective of herself and how she views the world. Therefore, I make the call today for real Christian men to become speakers of truth, love, grace, and mercy towards their wives. It is God's plan for your words to soothe the soul of your mate. He wants the words that cross your tongue to foster intimacy which brings to our marriages so we can become effective witnesses to our communities and children.

I believe the perversion we see in our language is as profound as the perversion we see with sex. Complaining, sarcasm, criticism, judgments, and gossip have had the same perverted effect on marriage as men have allowed it to enter their households in the 21st century. Words can destroy intimacy and trust in marriage, and they are like poison to our relationship with our spouse.

Complaining, in particular, is a major problem in many marriages. It's like a fire hose to the flames of the Holy Spirit, quenching His work in our lives. It blinds us from seeing God's blessings in our lives and sends a message to God that we don't believe He is good or enough. It makes us incapable of seeing the good things our spouse does, and appreciating them for who they are quickly making us forget why we married them in the first place.

Sarcasm is another form of destructive language in our marriages. It is often used as a medium for humour, cleverness, and one-upmanship bantering in our culture today. Unfortunately, much of the most pointed sarcasm aims at those in authority, even our pastors. Sarcasm can wound our spouse emotionally and destroy their self-image, and we must guard against it.

However, we have an antidote to these destructive words in our marriage, and that antidote is words of affirmation and compliments. When we intentionally use words of love and affection, it can have a profound positive impact on our wife's self-image. A positive self-image means a wife that is confident, loving, and gracious with her own words and action creating a positive feedback loop.

Ephesians, chapter 4 verse 29, we are told, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." This verse is a powerful reminder of the importance of our words and the impact they can have on our marriage.

Proverbs 25:11 says, "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver." Our words have the power to bring joy, encouragement, and affirmation to our spouse, and they can strengthen the bonds of our marriage.

As husbands, we must take our words seriously and intentionally use them to build up our wives. We must speak truth, love, grace, and mercy, and we must guard against the destructive language that can tear down our marriage.

The importance of our words in marriage cannot be overstated. Our words have the power to shape and mould our spouse's perspective of themselves and the world around them. As husbands, let us intentionally use words of affirmation and compliments to introduce love and affection into our marriage. Let us guard against destructive language and instead speak in truth and love. When we do, we will see a profound positive impact our marriages and be a light to those who need it.