Love and Faith
No woman is worthy to be a wife who on the day of her marriage is not
lost absolutely and entirely in an atmosphere of love and perfect trust;
the supreme sacredness of the relation is the only thing which, at the
time, should possess her soul. Is she a bawd that she should bargain?
Women should not "obey" men anymore than men should obey women. There
are six requisites in every happy marriage; the first is Faith, and
remaining five are Confidence. Nothing so compliments a man as for a
woman to believe in him--nothing so pleases a woman as for a man to
place confidence in her.
Obey? God help me! Yes, if I loved a woman, my whole heart's desire
would be to obey her slightest wish. And how could I love her unless I
had perfect confidence that she would only aspire to what was beautiful,
true and right? And to enable her to realize this ideal, her wish would
be to me a sacred command; and her attitude of mind toward me I know
would be the same. And the only rivalry between us would be as to who
could love the most; and the desire to obey would be the one controlling
impulse of our lives.
We gain freedom by giving it, and he who bestows faith gets it back with
interest. To bargain and stipulate in love is to lose.
The woman who stops the marriage ceremony and requests the minister to
omit the word "obey," is sowing the first seed of doubt and distrust
that later may come to fruition in the divorce court.
The haggling and bickerings of settlements and dowries that usually
precede the marriage of "blood" and "dollars" are the unheeded warnings
that misery, heartache, suffering, and disgrace await the principals.
Perfect faith implies perfect love; and perfect love casteth out fear.
It is always the fear of imposition, and a lurking intent to rule, that
causes the woman to haggle over a word--it is absence of love, a
limitation, an incapacity. The price of a perfect love is an absolute
and complete surrender.
Keep back part of the price and yours will be the fate of Ananias and
Sapphira. Your doom is swift and sure. To win all we must give all.
More
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