9. Abuse

Ephesians 5:22 says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”

While it is important for wives to submit in times of conflict, husbands sometimes use submission to get their way when it comes to a disagreement. This can result in mental and emotional abuse because some men think that they can do what they want when they want without suffering any consequences or repercussions of their actions.

The church often glosses over these abuses instead of dealing with them directly. All churches should have a zero-tolerancee policy when it comes to abuse. Although mental and emotional abuse is more difficult to detect, the symptoms of these abuses are detectable if someone knows a victim well enough. Depression, unexplained marks or bruises, a feeling of hopelessness, etc. are signs someone’s mental state is unstable. Pastors and other leaders need to have a plan or process in place to help victims heal from various abuses. Victims need to surround themselves in a safe environment with those that can help propel them forward in their healing process.

Erick Bouwmeester