I have a 54 year old friend who is a martial artist. He insists on fighting in such a way that, as he says, "I don't pull punches". In other words it’s not fake. When he trains he punches his training partner as if he is actually fighting with him. Full body contact. He says “if I pull punches when I practice I will pull punches if I get in a fight.” It has to do with what he calls muscle memory or muscle training. You will fight the way you train.
This idea of muscle memory made me think about my relationship with my wife. I'll pose the question to you that I asked myself.
How do you love your wife? Do you love her the same way when you are away from her as you do when you are with her? When you are talking to your friends, when it is just the guys, how do you represent your wife? Do you talk about her like she is a pain in your butt or a thorn in your side, “the ol’ ball and chain? Or do you actually love her with your words even when she isn’t with you. Do you join in with the guys by bashing her because everyone is verbally beating their wives behind their backs? Or are you the guy who honors your wife even when you are mad at her. Do you honor her by bragging about her, telling the guys how well she takes care of you or about the talents she has? Do you ever tell the group of guys you hang out with that you adore and cherish your wife?
People who have never met our wives gain their first impression about them by the way we represent them with our expressions we make about them. Our description of their personalities and how we feel about them will determine how other will treat them as well. Our friends, people we work with and even family will see our wives through us until they meet them. They will treat them by our words of respect or disrespect. We only get one first impression with people, make sure your wife has the best first impression possible because of the way you represented her before someone meets her.
“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”. So I guess we have to ask ourselves, how do we really feel about our wives? You’ll be able to tell by the way you talk about her when she isn’t with you.
My Friend has it right you will fight the way you practice. Muscle memory will play it’s way out in real life.
We have to practice loving our wives and sometimes we have to work hard at it, just like they do. Men here is a reality bite, "our wives will follow our lead". I guess that puts the shoe on the other foot. Sounds like being the leader of the house means leading by example not by words alone. Don’t air dirty laundry to the guys because it can become a practice that leads to the down fall of your marriage. We will eventually begin to live out what we say because it becomes an attitude of the heart the attitude of the heart becomes a mind set, our mind set becomes our actions. then a lifestyle.
Husbands Love your wives as Christ loves the church and gave himself up for her.
