1 Peter 3:1, 2

"(1) Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, (2) when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear."

I want to look at these verses a minute. Notice in verse one that we are to be submissive to our own husbands. Not the neighbors' or our friends' husbands, our own! When you married, it was a commitment. It was a covenant. So many people, Christians included, do not take that covenant seriously. Just because the Bible gives an "out" for some doesn't mean we get divorced because we are no longer "in love" with our spouse.

Does your spouse always "obey the word" as in verse one? Why did God instuct the women or wife to win over the husband without a word? Why wasn't it the other way around? Did God know something we did not? God gave Peter wisdom and inspired him to write these words.

How many times have you quietly won over your husband? How many times have I heard the story of a wife who has actually done that? I have heard it; it can happen!! God wouldn't have put it into His Word if He didn't intend for it to happen!

Our husbands are supposed to witness our "chaste conduct accompanied by fear." Chaste? What does it mean to be chaste? One of the definitions that Webster gives is: 'Pure in thought and act; modest.' Wow!

And we are supposed to behave and think by "fear." Fear of whom? Not of our spouse. It doesn't mean our spouses are to rule our home like a tyrant, nor are we to rule our household to the point that everyone fears us. The fear spoken here, I believe, is of the Lord, not of our spouses. We should not fear our spouse, they should not fear us, and our children should not fear us. We, as Christians, should fear the Lord. Not in a "God-is-angry" kind of fear, but a reverent fear. The kind of fear that allows God to judge on His High Throne. The kind of fear knowing that God can send us to Hell. The kind that also loved us so much that He gave His only Son for the forgiveness of our sins that we might have eternal life.

If you are a believing wife, who is living with either a believing or unbelieving husband I think this applies to us all. We are to be submissive without a word. That is not easy in our society. It doesn't say if we feel like it or if our husbands are obeying the word. It specifically says that they are NOT obeying God's commands. So, it is when our husbands are at their worst that we are to be submissive. Not an easy task, but with the help of our Good Shepherd, it CAN be done! Just lean upon Him!