It’s the chapter where sin enters the picture. One verse previous, Adam and Eve are frolicking in the perfect garden God crafted for them, naked and unashamed. But by Chapter 3, everything goes awry.
Genesis 3 teaches me, frames my theology, and makes me long to walk with God in Heaven.
One thing I read there is haunting– it stands as a warning to you and I. It’s in verse 17, just after Eve is told that having babies is gonna hurt:
To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you…”
Did you catch that first reason listed?
“BECAUSE YOU LISTENED”
It’s terrifying, isn’t it?
Can you imagine God speaking of the advice and counsel you’ve given your husband and saying that because he listened to you, he, his work, and the entire world and everyone who ever lives in it, will be cursed?
“Because you listened to the voice of your wife…”
As married women of God, we must soberly evaluate the counsel we give to our husbands.
Today I am asking myself, and I encourage you to consider:- Are my words to my husband infused with wisdom from Scripture?
- Do I encourage him to walk in the Spirit or in the flesh?
- Does my voice motivate and encourage him, or tear him down?
- Can he rely on the counsel I give, knowing I don’t speak out of temptation or emotion?
- Can his heart trust in me?
How is God teaching and growing you in the area of being a godly counselor for your husband?
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It is scary that! LOL a good reminder for me – I love to talk!
James 3 has to be my go-to chapter for this sort of thing (I ought to carry that chapter around with me).
I must learn that I am NOT my husband’s Holy Spirit (and neither is he mine). As your post points out, it’s all about testing advice by scripture [is it wise, is it loving, is it true?] before we give it or accept it. Knowing also that, even if I think I am right, arguments never work out well. Better to pray for a change of heart than to try to take that heart by force – very often it is me who ends up with the change of heart!
I love your new website BTW.