To Nourish and Cherish

Husbands are told in Ephesians 5:29 another way they are to love their wives. It says, "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church." But what does it really mean to nourish and cherish our wives? Let's think about it.

To nourish, in its simplest form, just means to feed. Nourishment comes from eating, right? This obviously refers to the husbands role as the breadwinner. He brings home the bacon, or goes out to the back yard and raises it. We know that modern America, indoctrinated by radical feminism, has put down that role of the husband, but it was part of God's plan at creation. The husband is to be the provider for his home.

You can see God's plan at creation by looking at the curse in Genesis 3, especially the curse on Adam as the man. God cursed both of them, both Adam and Eve, in the area of their primary responsibility. We saw previously that Eve was cursed in her primary roles of mother and wife. How was Adam cursed? He was cursed in his primary role as provider. Genesis 3:17-19 says,

"Then to Adam He said, 'Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you saying, you shall not eat of it; cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.'"

Adam was cursed in his primary role as breadwinner. It was his responsibility to make sure his family's physical needs were cared for. He was responsible to make sure they had enough to eat, a place to live, and that they were protected from danger. But because of the curse, this would no longer be easy. It would now take back breaking labor. Thorns and thistles would interfere. Weeds and pests would fight him. He will have to toil and sweat until the day he dies to take care of his family.

But it is still his responsibility. 1st timothy 5:8 says, "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Certainly there is nothing in Scripture to preclude the wife from also being an economic blessing to the family, but that's not her primary responsibility. she was created for a different purpose. She will never stand before God to give an account for why her family didn't have enough to eat. But the husband will. That is what he was created for. It is his responsibility.

But remember the analogy that this passage is taken from. The husband and the wife are one flesh. We learned that in Genesis 2:23-24. You would never starve or neglect your own body, would you? Neither should you ever neglect your wife's physical needs. Caring for her is as important as caring for your own body.