ESTHER 1:20-22 : “When the king’s decree which he will make is proclaimed throughout all his
empire (for it is great), all wives will honor their husbands, both great and small.” And the reply
pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan. Then he sent
letters to all the king’s provinces, to each province in its own script, and to every people in their own
language, that each man should be master in his own house, and speak in the language of his own
people.
A little boy misbehaved until finally his mother told him to go sit in the corner.
Reluctantly he went to the corner, but he refused to sit. “David,”his mother said firmly,”I told you to sit
in the corner, not stand.” David remained standing. “David, I said sit.” The boy stood stubbornly.
Finally, the mother came over, placed her hands firmly on his shoulder and sat him in his chair. As
she turned to leave, however, she heard him say softly to himself, “I may be sitting on the outside, but
I’m standing on the inside.”
Force can create outward compliance, but it can’t change inward attitudes. King Ahasuerus was the
most powerful man in the Persian Empire. His edict was law.
No one dared disobey him outwardly. When the proclamation came demanding that wives respect
their husbands, you can be sure there was outward obedience, but nothing changed on the inside.
Scripture says, “Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let
the wife see that she respects her husband” (Eph, 5:33).
Notice that respect follows love. Unless a husband is satisfied with just outward conformity, he has to
earn that respect by loving his wife, treating her fairly and kindly and exercising godly leadership in
his family.
If you are a wife, treat your husband-with the respect desired by God. If you are a husband, prove you
are worthy of your wife’s respect by the way you treat her. You can never enjoy respect by
demanding it, but you can earn it.
WHEN RESPECT IS EARNED, IT WILL FIRST BE EVIDENT ON THE INSIDE.