I once did something wrong.  Actually, I started out to do something right.  Though I was on the right side of justice, I pursued it in a destructive manner.  My short-lived position on the right-side quickly gave way to a prolonged stay on the wrong side.

My wife called me out.  Initially, she understood my indignation and supported me.  Before I saw the real error of my ways she became too keenly aware of of the damage I was doing.  She even suffered from the collateral damage.  So she called me out.  She felt enough independence and personal power to reveal to painful truth to me.  She never stopped loving me.  In fact, this was evidence of her love for me: her effort to draw me back from wrongdoing.

It pains me that many guys feel totally justified, even morally superior for not listening to their wives.  ‘Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord’ (Eph. 5:22).  Garbage!  Gender matters less than truthfulness.  A real man can hear when he’s wrong, even from a woman.  Unreal men shouldn’t marry.  This was not a part of our vows and will never be a part of any wedding I officiate.  Our marriage included the declaration of “faithfulness” to one another.  How would it be faithful were M. to allow me to continue down a pathway of falsehood?  Men, submit to your wives when it’s time to submit.

Image: Merci and Justin with Howard by Joi Ito