5 Ways For Spouses To Respect The Relationship

5 Ways For Spouses To Respect The Relationship

Respect is one significant aspect of a healthy marriage.  And a strong virtue in the lives of those who fear God, who have been born in the image of Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us to love and respect one another, to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. So without being married at all, you are obliged to respect each other as human beings and as believers in the Lord. In addition, husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the Church and wives are to respect their husbands as well (Ephesians 5:21-25).

Although men crave for respect more than the women do, respect for both partners is indispensable for a healthy relationship and the survival of a troubled one.

Respect is found in the attitude of the mind with which you relate to your wife or husband. By your words and actions, one could tell if it’s out of love and respect or not. Our reason for this article is to help couples to practically respect each other out of love for God and for each other as couples. And these 5 Ways For Spouses To Respect The Relationship are some ways you can do just that.

1. Do Not Interrupt Each Other Talking

For couples to show respect for themselves, they will do well not to cut the other short when he or she is talking. This is particularly troublesome to communication. It kills communication in a relationship. Allow your wife to finish talking and make her points clearly. Wives, don’t interrupt your husbands when they’re still talking. Interruption is a sign of disrespect in a relationship. A thing that you would want to avoid.

2. Always Talk About Your Spouse Positively To Others.

Avoid the act of negatively talking about your husband or wife out of the home. Even if there’s a reason for that. To condemn, criticize, slander your own lover, spouse to others outside is a sign of disrespect and doesn’t help the relationship to grow. It is true that a moment of tension can arise where one partner tries to seek help from outside the home, such moment demands wisdom and must not be seen as a time for judgment but of solution seeking.

While there’s a way that one can be objective in seeking counsel from others outside of the home, it must not be done by pointing fingers, slandering or criticizing one partner outside of the home. Speak positively about your spouse to the public. Be your spouse kind of spokesperson for the good of the relationship. Keep this Scripture verse in mind “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone (Colossians 4:6)

3. Do Not Encourage Others To Disrespect Your Spouse In Your Face

What you must understand is that, when you are in love, an act of disrespect of one partner in front of the other is an act of disrespect to both of them. A wife cannot take pride before others who disrespect her husband in front of her. And the vice versa is true. Don’t encourage such an attitude in others. And this you do in two ways.

• By defending your spouse when others speak disrespectfully about her or him. Stay on the positive side always and keep the discussion short since they are bent on denigrating your loved one.
• Secondly, by outrightly making it clear in words that you don’t tolerate the abuse or disrespect of your partner by anyone. Of course, People have their opinions, they’re entitled to it. But as far as your relationship is concerned, nobody’s opinion matters than that of both of you, how much less a negative and disrespectful opinion of outsiders. Tell them that don’t allow such and if they continue, you take your leave. Such disrespect of one partner in front of the other is a disrespect to both of them.

4. Always Tell Your Spouse That You Love Him Or Her

I say “Tell” not assume. Some couples just assume that they love each other, and they honestly do. But there’s a difference between ‘to assume’ and let things go by and ‘to tell.’ And the difference is that there is power in telling, not in assuming. There’s power to let out those words, “I love you. ”

Remember, those words were at the core of what brought you, people, together. And it always will be. To tell your partner that you love him or her is telling them that you respect the relationship you share. That singular action when done daily strengthens love and hence, the relationship and takes it even further and deeper. Tell him you love him daily. Tell her you love her daily.

5. Speak Honorably About Him Or Her In Front Of The Kids.

A great way to instill respect at home is to speak in an honorable way to your spouse before your children. When you speak respectfully to your wife, the kids grow to speak respectfully to her. And when you speak disrespectfully before them, they emulate it and become disrespectful in the manner they speak to their parents. You wonder why? That’s what they learn from their parents. That what they see their parents do.

No matter what went wrong, never bring spousal issues before kids, it hurts their growth, affects the respect for their parents, mentors them from a wrong perspective, and is likely that they grow to become disrespectful themselves to their future families and the society at large. Parents who abuse each other in front of their kids are likely sowing that nature in them and might reap just what they sowed. Their children could be abusive parents when they grow up. A great way to start to remedy this is to speak respectfully to your wife or husband in front of the kids.

Applying these 5 Ways For Spouses To Respect The Relationship that we’ve just talked about would greatly enhance every aspect of a relationship and strengthen the love within. Tell us what you think? Do you some more that have worked for you?