The Weaker Vessel

I have a lot of different dishes in my house. There are disposable plates and cups that I can use for various needs and then throw away without even washing them.

I also have everyday dishes that I can use without fear of breaking anything. These plates are so sturdy that I don’t think about how careful I need to be with them. If they fall and break, I easily replace them with others, rejoicing that I can at last legitimately renew my dishes.

In my wall cabinet there is also a white porcelain dinner set with a gold ornament. I usually use it only when guests come, and they need to be fed and especially delighted. I carefully take out these dishes, set them on the table, and then just as carefully collect them and wash them thoroughly, so I can put them back in the cabinet and admire them until the next visit of guests. And if guests do not come, then this set remains untouched until better times and, by its appearance, lets me know that it exists. I have grown used to its presence and sometimes do not even notice it, and I admire it only when there is a need to use it.

But the most valuable thing I have among my dishes is a bone-china tea set—a cup and saucer with a beautiful pattern. I received it as a gift from my best Friend. It is so thin and delicate that when you take it in your hands and look through it at the light, it shines through with purity. This set stands in the sideboard in the place of highest honor and constantly delights my eyes. I always take out this set with special tenderness to drink tasty beverages from it and show remarkable caution so as not to accidentally break anything. Any wholesome drink in this vessel acquires an unusual taste, and the sound of the cup touching the saucer is like a crystal bell, which also delights my ear. And the very awareness of how precious a gift it is makes my handling of it a celebration and the most solemn event of my meal. I wash it with special care, wipe it, and put it back in place under the protection of glass doors, so that it is visible to everyone, but does not gather dust and remains intact and unharmed.

When guests come and ask permission to hold this set in their hands, I give it not very willingly and immediately warn them to be very careful. I always keep my hands at the ready to prevent any breakage and take this set from other people’s hands if any danger threatens it. Guests usually understand my care for this set, especially when I name its price and tell how dear it is to me, how it delights my heart, and how many pleasant memories it brings me.

A wife is not a disposable plate that can be used for any selfish purposes and then thrown into the trash heap of history.

A wife is not everyday crockery that can be scratched and broken without regret and, if necessary, replaced with something new and modern. This is not a table utensil for satisfying daily needs.

A wife is not even a festive dinner set to be displayed for show with beautiful shapes and ornaments, in order to amaze friends with exotic looks and rare contents.

A wife is a fragile, weaker vessel that must be guarded with special care, constantly looked after for its safety, kept away from curious eyes, protected from dirt and dust, and from personal use bring the maximum of delight, safeguarding this precious set as the apple of one’s own eye.

My wife has been presented to me by my Heavenly Friend as the very best gift, in order to teach me to treat this precious vessel—which the Bible calls weak—with special tenderness and love.

Why does the inspired Word call wives so? Weaker does not mean unnecessary and ready-to-be-broken. It means that such a person needs a special attitude and an understanding of how carefully one should treat her, how deeply one should study the inner content of a woman and try to understand her with one’s limited mind.

Not every man is given to understand a woman, but every wise person can begin to study this creation of God and see how perfect this being is, which, by the way, is created in the Image and likeness of God and reflects a special facet of God’s character, uniquely revealing the beauty of the Creator in combination with the nature of man.

Women are more emotional and receptive. They are distinguished by greater sensitivity and impressionability than men, and this makes them more vulnerable to all sorts of emotional shocks.

Hormonal changes in a woman’s body can very quickly change her mood, both in one direction and in the other, and you cannot predict what to expect from this person in various life trials—especially when she feels loved and free in expressing her feelings and emotions.

A woman, as a rule, is physically weaker than a man and is not created to perform coarse and heavy labor, but always needs someone who would help and do what is beyond her strength. And it can be so pleasant to feel strong next to such a weak being and to serve her with all your heart, evoking genuine admiration for your physical capabilities!

In many women, during the days of cleansing, the body loses beneficial substances, without which she quickly becomes tired and deprived of cheerfulness and productivity. Circumstances force many wives to work beyond their strength, which ultimately exhausts them and makes them more weak. And a man sometimes cannot understand these internal processes, and a conflict arises that only makes everything worse.

The female body is more vulnerable to all kinds of physical, emotional, and spiritual attacks from outside; therefore it should be carefully guarded and, as much as possible, protected from external negative impact.

A wife is a beautiful, tender flower which, with proper nourishment and treatment, delights you with her beauty and unusual fragrance. Any sensible gardener understands that a delicate plant will perish with improper care and takes measures to grow what he wants to have. But in family relationships, husbands sometimes for some reason think that they have acquired a wild plant that should somehow take care of itself and defend its interests.

Although in some respects women surpass men in development and intuition, this does not make them strong and independent. We are still needed by them as protectors and as those behind whose back they can feel safe.

A wife is given for love, and she always needs this from her husband.

We read in 1 Pet. 3:7: “Likewise, you husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered.” The Apostle calls me to show special honor, delicacy, and caution in my relationship with my wife. And it is worth paying attention to this counsel of the disciple of Jesus. And the commandment of Jesus about love for one another calls me to love my wife at all times.

1. Please read Isa. 53:4; 2 Cor. 12:9; Col. 3:19; Rom. 12:9–10; 15:1; 1 Pet. 1:22; 3:1–13; Gen. 2:22–24; Amos 3:3; John 13:34–35; 15:17; 1 Cor. 7:3–6, 33; 11:8–12; 12:22–27; Eph. 5:25–33 in light of this lesson.

2. What other Bible verses came to your mind?

3. What did you understand from this topic?

4. How do you understand the expression “weaker vessel”?

5. Did the Lord create woman as a “weaker vessel”?

6. Is there anything wrong with the fact that in some cases men are stronger than women and more resilient to various trials?

7. What will happen in the relationship of spouses who understand God’s plan for their happiness and realize who they are in the light of the Bible?

8. Have you ever felt strong alongside those who are weaker than you?

9. Is strength given to men so that they would offend the weaker, or for some other purposes?

10. Is it pleasant for you to realize that you are a weaker vessel, and there is no getting away from this now?

11. How does Heaven look at those women who decide that they are the main ones in the family and desperately fight for this right, considering their husbands weak?

12. What does the Lord expect from “mighty husbands” in their attitude toward “weaker wives”?

13. Do you think a woman who is loved as the weaker one, who is protected, cared for, shielded from dangers, and served—will be happy? Will this demean her?

14. Does the Lord consider His Church a “weaker vessel”?

15. Can we see, in the example of Christ’s love for His Church, how husbands should love their wives?