Today I read 1 Corinthians 11, a chapter where Paul spends the first part of it talking about the appropriate way to cover or keep one's head uncovered. It is quite interesting to me how the culture of the time when Paul was writing this was the same as it is today, that it is impolite for men to cover their heads while praying. This seems to have been a common aspect of most cultures that I know of.
This chapter also talks quite a bit about the nature of the relationship between women and men. I had a friend whose father used to be a Catholic Cardinal I believe he was. Then one day he was reading this chapter and read verse 11 and got to thinking about it's meaning and how man is not complete without the woman in God's sight. He thought about how he was not allowed to marry in his current religion and so he quit. He then got married and one day the Latter-day Saint missionaries knocked on his door. At first he had no interest in them at all until he learned that they were completely unpaid for their proselyting. He was eventually baptized and has been a faithful member ever since. I knew his son when we were both missionaries together. I was very impressed that this verse could so touch someone that they quit their faith and determined that it was incorrect because it was not compatible with what he was reading in the Bible.
I have often wondered just what it is that a woman gains out of a relationship with a man. Most men when they get married will marry a woman who will help uplift them and help them be better than they currently are. Women push their husbands, and sometimes boyfriends, to be better men than they were before they met them. They will help them be cleaner, more goal oriented, eat healthier, be better parents and other things. Women can help uplift men and make them better.
But what is it that a woman gains from being in a relationship with a man? I know my wife loves my company and when she's had a rough day her favorite thing to do is to curl up on the couch and lean against my chest with my arm around her shoulders. But aside from giving her comfort, I am not sure if I have added anything to my wife's life. I set an example to her by reading my scriptures everyday and writing this blog, but she could get that from other places too. So what does she get from me that she cannot get other places, besides children and physical intimacy? I honestly don't know. I think I will ask her and see what she says. I firmly believe that neither of us are complete without the other and that we need to be sealed in the temple and working towards becoming one flesh to be exalted one day, but am I actively adding to her life right now? I'm not so sure.
Perhaps that is on me more than it is upon her. Perhaps I should be actively examining my life and looking for ways to better and improve my wife's life. Perhaps I should be suggesting more often that we turn off the TV and the electronics except for maybe some nice music and just talk more often or spend time enriching our minds by reading a good book together and discussing it? I'm sure she would be receptive and it would push me even further to better myself. Perhaps my discussion with her will shed some light on the subject but I do know one thing for sure. Paul was exactly right when he stated that we are incomplete without each other. I would not be where I am today without my wife, and that's a good thing! Until tomorrow.
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