Married women are expected to be wise when dealing with their husbands’ wrongs/inappropriate behaviours and not expose them before family and friends. Although the essence of this is to build stronger relationships in the marriage, some women have lost the understanding of how to go about it.
This was the main focus of discussion at the April 13 meeting of the Married Women’s Fellowship of the Fountain of Life Church. Women were encouraged bring their lives and marriages before God’s throne of grace, declaring restoration on every side.
Pastor Nomthi, who ministered to the women, said that Marriage is a field, and love is the cover-up weapon to be used in this field. Delving into the application of having a cover-up, she warned the women not to report trivial issues they have with their husbands to people.
In her words, “When wives expose their husbands’ wrongs and/or inappropriate behaviours, later in life when they have forgiven their husbands and moved on, their family and friends will still hold on to this and would not have their husbands in their good books, so much so that this negatively affects their relations with the concerned husbands.”
She drew examples from 1 Peter 4: 8, Proverbs 17: 9, Genesis 9:22-23 and Luke 8: 17 to implore the women to be wise in their approach towards conflict resolution, and know the difference between seeking counsel and seeking comfort. “As wives and Christians, we are expected to cover our spouses’ shame and must avoid painting the other person black. We are expected to walk in love,” she noted.
She, however, noted that some things should not be covered up. These include Husbands having Children outside Marriage, Fraud, Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence, among many other negative and life-threatening habits. Concerning these, she said, “Someone has to know about it, maybe the wives’ parents or in-laws. However, they should be informed in a loving and forgiving manner, showing no contempt against the spouse. As women, we are encouraged to look out for the well-being of our family, including the children and ourselves – even such violent husbands need help.”
She therefore implored the women to treat their husbands right. Counsel was also provided to women seeking help for friends and family after which prayers were said for every family represented at the meeting. There were also interactive sessions before the meeting was brought to a close at 11:30am.
The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, 18th May 2019.
Reported by Yemi Ajunwon
