Wives who wish to see their husbands change should probably do some self-reflection first, said Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship.
"Before you can convert your husband into a new man, maybe you need to think about becoming a new woman," Laurie said during a recent sermon, which was part of his "Home Sweet Home" series.
In order for women to embrace change within themselves, Laurie offered three tips.
The first is for women to become the best version of themselves that they can be.
Women should aspire to be godly and "become a virtuous virtue," he said.
People in today's society might only care for a woman's physical attributes, but Christian women should seek to become beautiful not just on the outside, but also on the inside, he said.
"The godly woman focuses primarily on the internal, but does not forget the external," he added.
The second thing women must do is to respect their husbands, Laurie said. Wives need love while husbands need respect, but husbands are unable to give love if their wives do not give them respect, he explained.
"When a husband feels disrespected, it is especially hard to love his wife. When a wife feels unloved, it is especially hard to respect her husband," he said. "Here's what you need to do. Just do your part."
Lastly, Laurie told women to submit to the leadership of their husband in the reverence of God. The pastor clarified that men and women are equal, but their roles in marriage are different.
"The husband has the God-given responsibility to provide for, protect and lead," he explained. "The wife is to submit graciously to this servant leadership the husband provides, just as the Church willingly submits to the headship of Christ."
However, Laurie stressed that there are times when a woman should not blindly submit to her husband. When husbands require their wives to do something immoral or illegal, the wives should reject this, he said.
