Dealing With a Temperamental Husband

First, I want to wish us a prosperous month of March. I pray we will enjoy the full measure of God in our lives this month in Jesus name.

Yesterday I was chatting with a friend in a troubled marriage, she had gotten divorced from her husband on the grounds that he was abusive. In the course of our chat, I mentioned to her that most men who behave badly in marriage do so due to peer influence. Men discuss issues with their friends a lot and quietly implement that which they learn from those friends. But she debunked my claim concerning her own situation and told me categorically that her husband’s parents were like that in their marriage. Her husband’s father used to beat his mother, and even though he (her husband) had vowed never to go that route in his marriage, he finds out that he can’t control his temper and gets to beat his wife even though he never wants to do so.

To the glory of God, she told me that after reading one of my blog write-ups in the past, she realized that getting a divorce wouldn’t solve the problem and so they reunited, but still live apart, but that they are building a house together and once done, they will be moving back in together.

With her permission, I am sharing her story so that a lot of women can learn from it. Looking at an issue like this, there are many things to note, first is that the abusing husband is by himself not abusive at heart. He finds himself doing the exact opposite of what he wants to do. He wants to love his wife but does the exact opposite, probably because growing up he has seen so much of abuse in the marriage of his parents that it seems to be the norm to him. So as far as he knows, the only way to make his wife do his bidding is to beat sense into her. And this might be the same issue with quite a handful of abuse in marriages.

In as much as I don’t want to make a case for abuse in marriage or excuse it in any way or tolerate it in any form, it’s important that we look at this problem from another dimension. In a case where a husband grew up in a dysfunctional home with very wrong values inherited from his parents, it will help to understand that the husband is as much a victim of the problem as much as the wife. He does what he hates to do because that is what he has seen his parents do, and now he needs to learn new values of life for an effective and happy marriage. He needs to be taught that in order to make his wife do his bidding, he can always love her into it.

I have always shared in my blog articles that emotions alone are not strong enough to sustain a marriage. Wisdom and in fact divine wisdom is the important ingredient to make marriage a success. If as a wife you are married to a husband with character flaws and deficiency, condemning such a man or running away from such a man does not get the problem solved and does not make you an exceptional wife that is the pride of a man. But helping your husband become better than how you met him singles you out as a hero. If in your lifetime, your husband is the only person you have helped become a better person as your contribution to the service of God and humanity, you have done fantastically well. If no one recognizes you for your labor, heaven does and will reward you bountifully and your husband will be grateful that he met you in his lifetime. You will become to him a high priced, valued and cherished tool in his life.

Dealing with a man who has grown up with very wrong moral values requires wisdom, patience and the ability to absorb shock. All these are made available from the throne of God through prayers and the will to be obedient to God. When you have a temperamental husband, the last thing you should be doing is to provoke him to anger. You cannot correct your husband like you would your child whether he is temperamental or not. The man is the head of the wife and not otherwise. If you know there is anything that can possibly upset him then it is just simple wisdom that you avoid those things. You speak to your husband more with your attitude than with your words. You should deal with your own character as a wife such that what he sees in you will create an impression in him that brings about the changes you desire in him far more than the words you say to him. Our action speaks volumes and far more than we know, our husbands read and study our actions. We need to deliberately possess character values that make our husbands sit down and have a rethink about their own lives.

When the Lord began to train me on submission, initially it was tough, but little did I know that it was that submission that will change my husband and make him a better person that he is today. I have so mastered submission that its beginning to yield huge positive results for me. Even when I know that the instructions my husband is giving aren’t going to get the job done or get us the result we want, rather than do things the way I feel is right, I follow my husband’s route. It might sound foolish, but it has saved me a lot of headaches and heartaches in my marriage. If eventually we are unable to arrive at the desired result and he complains, I will point it to him gently that I did it just the way he wanted it done, so if there is an error then it is not my fault but his. It is only then will I point to him that, well, there is another way we can do it to get a better result because I know that at that moment he is ready to listen to me. But never will I force my opinion on him, and I have made that very clear to him. After several mistakes and instances like that, we now dialog more than him issuing instructions.   

Many mistakes like this have helped my marriage a great deal. In what felt like foolishness, I have been able to make a great impact in the life of my husband. He is also learning to be patient with me and listen to me more. We agree on the approach and then execute. He is limiting his “I gave you an instruction” approach and adopting the “let’s discuss” approach.

But I can’t remove God from my achievements in marriage. All the success I have recorded as a wife to a temperamental husband was because I prayed, and God answered. He led me through it, and I obeyed Him (God) foolishly. I didn’t try to rationalize God or try to understand His dealings, just that as I sense Him leading, I followed. Many people tell me I am enjoying God’s grace in abundance and I can’t deny that in my life. But that much grace as it is available for me is also available for all. God’s grace is like a flowing river that never runs dry. When you go to the river to fetch water, the container you go with determines the quantity of water you will take from the river, if you go with a 35cl glass cup, the water you can take will only be what that 35cl glass cup can carry. And if you go with a 1000ltr water tank, you get the quantity of water that your tank can carry. So, when you go to God for grace, your container determines the quantity of grace that you can carry from God. If you go to God with a small container, you get small grace and if you go with a large container, you get large grace. It’s all about you.

Before you condemn your husband as a never do well, are you willing to be the change agent in his life? Are you available to God to use to correct all the foundational problems that he has grown up with despite the fact that he hurts you so bad? Interestingly, he is as much a victim of his problems as you are. Fighting him will only amount to him fighting two enemies (you and his problems). But understanding his situation and helping him fight his demons will mean you two joining forces to fight a common enemy. You can be sure that with God on your side the victory is sure. I am happy now and I know you too will be happy if you fight the real enemy of your joy and happiness. That real enemy is not your husband. He does not possess flesh and blood.