We women are very good at pointing out our husbands’ faults and failures and punishing them for not meeting our needs, but that only leads to discontent and distance in our marriages. We all know that yelling, nagging, and belittling are disrespectful and ineffective. So I’m suggesting a radical concept: Treat him like a king, and eventually, he will begin to treat you like a queen.

Instead of waiting for him earn your respect, behave respectfully and watch him grow into the man God designed him to be.

Twenty-five years ago, our marriage was on the brink of divorce. I was controlling, critical, and disrespectful, so Ron was defensive and angry. We were both Christians, but neither of us was living a Spirit-filled life. I was letting my emotions determine my actions and thought it was Ron’s job to make me happy. But through a series of miracles (read my book Avoiding the Greener Grass Syndrome for the whole story) we made a decision to rebuild our marriage.

We went to a Christian counselor who read Ephesians 5:33: “Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband,” and said, “Nancy, the only way you will win Ron back and stay married is if you begin to respect your husband.” I knew he was right so I swallowed hard and came up with a plan. Here are three of the ways I began to respect Ron: They are easy to remember because they spell out the goal-to treat him like a V.I.P.

Verbally

If you want to have a peaceful, happy marriage, learn the art of the complimentpliments are like magnets and the more you compliment your husband, the more he will be attracted to you. Begin to notice when he does things right and verbally encourage him by complimenting him at least once a day. Lees verder →