A pastor's life and spirit are to be becoming to The Gospel or it will reflect poorly upon The Gospel. The first place where such commendation or distraction is felt is in the home. Instructions for the relationship between husbands and wives are given in Ephesians 5:22-33. Husbands are to love and care for their wives just as Christ loves and cares for the church. Christ died for the church. Wives are to respect their husbands and submit to them, just as the church submits to Christ. Husbands and wives have different needs. Willard F. Harley, Jr. PhD, author of His Needs, Her Needs Building An Affair-proof Marriage, offers free advice concerning meeting the needs of a spouse. You can download the Emotional Needs Questionnaire (seethe Most Popular Links box) and other information from the following website. http://www.marriagebuilders.com Dr. Harvey advises couples to negotiate with mutual respect in order to reach joint agreement. If joint agreement is not possible on some matters, the Scripture admonishes wives to submit to their husband’s leadership (Ephesians 5:22). It is helpful fora married couple to seek out an older Christian couple as mentors. If the older couple has a successful marriage, they can offer advice and help to mediate conflicts that arise between a husband and wife. Instructions for the relationship between parents and children are given in Ephesians 6:1-4. Parents are to teach children to honor their father and mother. Parents who praise and love their children continually, while expecting obedience from the children, are following Scripture. The Book of Proverbs contains wise advice for child rearing.
