Wives, Don't Let your Husband Get in Your Way

I've heard it recently......women talking about their husband being the family priest....men admonishing each other to be a good family priest......pastors encouraging husbands to embrace their "role" as the family priest.

Sounds real spiritual, doesn't it?

Sounds real godly, right?

No, it sounds so........wrong.

I'm going to give you three biblical reasons why you do not want your husband to be the "family priest."

I Timothy 2:5

 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"

My commentary on this:  There is one mediator - and it's not your husband - it's the man Christ Jesus. Messiah Jesus. Pursue Jesus. Let nothing, not even a husband, stand between you and your Savior. He is yours. Wait for no one. Pursue Him fully, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.There is one God; He is yours.

I Peter 2:5

"Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."

My commentary on this: As a wife you are included in this. You are your own priest; you are part of the holy priesthood if you know Jesus Christ as your Savior. You need no one else to stand in for you. Take it, it's yours. Embrace it with everything you have; let no one, not even a husband, take this away from you or get in the way of it. Read the first four verses of this passage and realize God is talking to you. He's talking to every believer.

Galatians 3:28

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

My commentary on this: We are one in Christ.....men and women.....slaves and their owners.....Greeks and Jews.....we are all one in Christ. This means just because you are a woman and are married, you do not take a back seat when it comes to your Jesus. 

God did not write a subtext for women with a male filter in place. He's talking to you....He's talking to me. If you are married, your husband is not your priest. Reject this teaching. I'm seeing it more and more and it's becoming more common in fundamental churches that would have rejected this idea even 10 years ago.

Don't allow what sounds like "godly" teaching fool you into thinking you have to take a back seat when it comes to pursuing Jesus. Any teaching that puts someone before Jesus or between you and Jesus is promoting idol worship. Do not fall into the man-made trap of making your husband an idol, coming between you and your Jesus.

This does not mean I don't think husbands should pray for their wives. I do think husbands should pray for their wives, but I also believe wives should pray for their husbands. We ought to make intercession for one another. Prayer for a spouse is not a one-sided activity and it is not an exclusive-to-the-husband role. 

The best and most often overlooked marriage advice you will ever receive is:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

This blog touches just the surface of this issue and is not a comprehensive study. A comprehensive study would make this much too long for a simple blog post. I chose to condense this to help wives who are currently being abused and beat over the head with this unbiblical idea of the "family priest."

~Tricia