Pledging of the Troth

So, I feel terrible because I don't remember who wrote this, but I know that it was from this blog by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. I find the genders fascinating, so I've added this blog to my lists. BTW, I am not yet convinced that women's "God-ordained role" is "in the home" and that if you have children and still work it makes you one of the "women who abandon their children on the altar of their career or before the idol of self." (Kay Arthur) But she's not the author of the post I'm sharing! I found this amazing segment saved in my email drafts:

This pledging of troth comes to characterize the whole marriage relationship. "Mutual dependence and trust allow husband and wife to be genuine and real with each other. Each can be accepted and loved for what he is. A wife need not compete with other women for her husband's love and affection: she has it. Her husband has sworn a bond of lifelong troth to her to which God is the witness. Neither does the husband have to compete with other men for his wife's continued affection. Both of them settled that matter when they married. That is the very meaning of marriage: both partners count on the other's fidelity."

It's a call to us men

• that we should take the risk of getting egg on our faces;
• that we should pray like we've never prayed for help in this tremendous responsibility;
• that we should be in the word more than we ever have been to know what God expects of us;
• that we should plan things more than we do, and be intentional and thoughtful and less carried along by the mood of the moment;
• that we should be disciplined and ordered in our lives;
• that we should be tender-hearted and sensitive;
• that we should take the initiative to make sure that there is a time and a place to talk to her about what needs to be talked about - this "her" could be a friend, a date, a colleague, a wife, a sister;
• that we should be ready to lay down our lives in discharging this responsibility to be the leaders God is calling us to be.

Katie here again. I really like the part about not competing and, of course, the part about men planning things and being intentional and thoughtful. But who doesn't? Also, I don't think I've ever heard/read anyone say that men should take the initiative in purposeful conversation, particularly with nonromantic figures. What an excellent way to honor these females! I don't think the author talked about women's roles. (I'm an equal opportunity poster.) Happy Friday.