Honor, Not Dishonor

[Concerning 1 Pet. 3:7, on the wife as the weaker vessel] “Too often men read this passage and unfortunately respond to it with a junior high mentality. Thinking of every difference in terms of competition, they start doing a little touchdown dance. ‘My wife loses! I am the strong one!’ But this response just proves, among other things, that the men can’t read. Peter assumes that the information he is providing will lead men to honor their wives. A china vase is weaker than a backhoe. But it is superior to the backhoe for a whole range of activities. And the backhoe is better for others. Our triune God did not create differences in the world so that we could try to figure out whether the sun or moon is better” (From 5 Paths, p. 75).