Supporting a Wife After Church Rejection and Loneliness
Supporting a Wife After Church Rejection and Loneliness
When a Christian couple faces rejection by their church community, it can be a challenging and isolating experience, particularly for the wife. The biblical principle of supporting widows and vulnerable members within the church is well-established, with 1 Timothy 5:5 describing a "widow indeed" as one who is "desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day" [1, 2]. This passage highlights the importance of the church's role in caring for those in need.
In the context of a couple facing rejection, the principle of mutual support within marriage becomes crucial. The husband's responsibility to care for his wife is rooted in biblical teachings, such as Ephesians 5:25, where husbands are exhorted to love their wives as Christ loved the Church [5]. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown's commentary on this verse emphasizes the depth of a husband's love for his wife, suggesting that he should be willing to make significant sacrifices for her well-being [5].
The concept of supporting one's wife is also present in Jewish tradition. Maimonides' Mishneh Torah outlines a husband's obligation to provide for his wife's sustenance, even in specific circumstances such as when a girl is consecrated and receiving sustenance from her brothers [4]. This responsibility is not limited to financial support but also includes emotional care.
In the face of church rejection, a husband's commitment to his wife can be a vital source of comfort and strength. While the church community's rejection can be painful, the couple's relationship with each other and with God can provide a foundation for resilience. As Aquinas notes in his discussion on the believer who leaves an unbelieving spouse, the believer is not permitted to marry again if the unbeliever is willing to cohabit without insult to the Creator [3].
Sources
- King James Version “[KJV] 1 Timothy 5:5 — Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.”
- I Timothy “I Timothy 5:5 (KJV) — Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Supplement (Supplementum), Of Disparity of Worship As an Impediment to Marriage, Art. 5: Article: Whether the believer who leaves his unbelieving wife can take another wife? I answer that, When either husband or wife is converted to the faith the other remaining in unbelief, a distinction must be made. For if the unbeliever be willing to cohabit without insult to the Creator---that is without drawing the other to unbelief---the believer is free to part from the other, but by parting is not permitted to marry again. But if the unbeliever refuse to cohabit without insu”
- Mishneh Torah (Maimonides) (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Mishneh Torah (Maimonides), Mishneh Torah%2C Marriage 19:15: A man who consecrates a girl who is receiving her sustenance from her brothers is obligated to provide her with support from the time of consecration onward. [Although a husband is ordinarily required to support his wife only after nisu'in , an exception is made in this instance, because] the girl is not entitled to support from her brothers after she becomes consecrated. Nor is she past the age of majority, when she is capable of providing for her own sustenance, but rather she is a minor, or a na'arah . 25 The Beit Shmuel 112:6 int”
- Ephesians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Ephesians 5:25: "Thou hast seen the measure of obedience; now hear also the measure of love. Do you wish your wife to obey you, as the Church is to obey Christ? Then have a solicitude for her as Christ had for the Church (Eph 5:23, "Himself the Saviour of the body"); and "if it be necessary to give thy life for her, or to be cut in ten thousand pieces, or to endure any other suffering whatever, do not refuse it; and if you suffer thus, not even so do you do what Christ has done; for you indeed do so being already united to her, but He did so for one that treated Hi”