So, a couple of days ago I was stood in my garden hanging washing on my clothes line. I looked across the empty plot next to my property and caught sight of my neighbour who was also there, hanging out his families washing! Two men with wet washing pegging out the family clothing!
It felt quite humorous actually!
There was a time when a man wouldn't be seen dead doing such a thing!
I come from the UK and guess that for many, the line between what is considered a male task and a female task has been somewhat blurred. However, I live in South Africa now; that imaginary line for many is still very much in place.
All of this gave me a moment where I felt God speak to me.
We live in a world where a lot of women are out doing full or part time work. The days when most wives stayed at home and took care of the home and children, for many households, is well and truly over.
So yeah, there was my neighbour and I pegging out the washing - in doing this I was helping my household run smoothly; I'm not going to just sit back and let my wife take care of such tasks!
It's good for men to take a more active role within the running of their households. It might feel weird, even look unusual, but it's something that we shouldn't shirk away from.
Think about it from these terms.
Instructions for Christian Households
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Ephesians 5:21–33 (NIV)
There is so much good teaching in these verses eh?
What I want to really highlight is verse 25:
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ...
How did Jesus love the church?
- Well, He gave up His majesty and humbled Himself, in order to become a man!
- He went against cultural norms and reached out in love to others, even if doing so meant He was looked down upon by some!
- And biggest of all, He gave up His life for His church.
Jesus, the manliest man that has ever lived, set us modern day men an example to live by. The adoption of such a humble way of living needs to play itself out in every area of our lives, including working with our wives so that our households run smoothly.
Real MEN hang out the washing!
God bless, keep and lead you!
P.S - I did all the washing and didn't mix the colours!
