We played Twister when I was a kid. Twister is a game of physical skill. It’s played on a 
plastic mat with 4 rows of colored circles. A spinner determines which color to put a hand or foot. Eventually, players find themselves in positions that cause someone to fall. The box says, “The game that ties you in knots.” The key to winning at Twister is balance.
Balance is the key to a lot of things – sports, finances, even relationships. Families often get out of balance. Every member of the family must balance the others. I want to notice how a husband and wife find balance in marriage From Ephesians 5:22-33.
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” (Ephesians 5:22-32)
Husbands Need Respect
God commands women to submit and respect their husbands. This is not politically correct, but it is Biblically correct. God gives 2 reasons: the Lordship of Christ and the headship of the man in Christ. When a wife submits herself to Christ and lets Him be the Lord of her life, she will have no difficulty submitting to her husband. This does not mean that she becomes a slave, for the husband is also to submit to Christ. But God has placed in man a need for constant reaffirmation of his leadership.
As a man came home from work, he stopped on his way into his house to pet his dog, and give it some affection. One day as he came in the house, his wife said with a little frustration, “Why is it that every day you always pet the dog and talk to the dog, but you never seem that happy to see your own wife and kids!? You spend several minutes with the dog, but you barely say anything to us.” The man grumbled, “Well, you never seem that happy to see me either! But the dog is always glad to see me. She runs to me, puts on a happy face, and wags her tail when I pet her.” The man didn’t think much more about their conversation until the next day when he came home from work. As he walked through the front door, to his surprise, there were his wife and daughter, down on all fours, smiling at him and wagging their “tails”. He remarked, “If I can make time to pet my dog and let her know I’m glad to see her, I can surely do a better job of letting my wife and kids know how much I love them. We can all decide what kind of attitude we will have in the way we treat our families.”
Wives Need Love
Paul had more to say to husbands than to wives. His command is to love your wife. Married love is the highest level possible, for it is an illustration of the relationship between Christ and the church. If the husband makes Christ’s love for the church the pattern for loving his wife, then he will love her sacrificially. Love meets a woman’s emotional needs. God has given a woman a more emotional disposition that needs to receive a constant reinforcement of love.
There is an old story about an older couple having dinner in a restaurant. The wife sees another couple about their age sitting in a booth nearby. She sees the husband sitting close to his wife, with his arm around her. He is whispering things in her ear, and she is smiling and blushing. He’s gently rubbing her shoulder and touching her hair. The woman turns to her husband and says, “Look at the couple over there. Look how close that man is to his wife, how he’s talking to her. Look at how sweet he is. Why don’t you ever do that?” Her husband looks up from his Caesar salad and glances over at the next booth. Then he turns to his wife and says, “Honey, I don’t even know that woman.”
Today, as you think of your marriage I hope you will balance each other. Wives, show respect to your husband – he needs it! Husbands, show love to your wife – she needs it!