Hold Your Tongue & Your Eyes

By: Jenifer Metzger

I see it so often and every single time, I cringe. A husband says something and the wife rolls her eyes. A wife says something and the husband rolls his eyes. A husband says something and the wife feels the need to correct him. A wife says something and the husband feels the need to correct her. Yes, I've seen it both ways and I've seen it in public.

"Well, this happened (insert conversation)." Eye roll.
"This happened (insert conversation)." "No it didn't! This is how it happened!"

Why do I cringe? Why does it bother me so? Because it is disrespect. Period.

Wives, you are not going to agree with every single thing your husband says and does. You just won't. And your husband is not going to agree with every single thing you say and do.

If your husband is telling a story and you know it happened at the baseball field, but he's saying it happened at the tennis court, there is no reason to correct him. If he is sharing with someone and says that something happened last week but in reality it happened three months ago, there is no reason to correct him. Ask yourself, is this a vital piece of information that changes the story? What will I gain from correcting him? If it's not important, don't correct him. If you are only gaining the title of being "right," don't correct him. Don't even shake your head or roll your eyes. By correcting him, shaking your head, rolling your eyes, or interrupting, you are only disrespecting and dishonoring him. In the words of Elsa, let it go! Pray and ask God to help you honor and respect your husband. Ask God to help you learn to let the minor, non-life altering details go.

Does your husband do this to you? Roll his eyes as you share a story, interrupt you with "correct" details, or shake his head? First, pray that God would help you to calmly speak your heart to your husband about this. Then, in the privacy of your home with just the two of you, tell him that this bothers you. Tell him that even if your detail is not as accurate as he thinks it should be, to please not correct you or roll his eyes in front of people. Ask him that if he feels the detail is important, to wait until it just the two of you.

There are so many arguments that can be avoided and so many feelings that can remain unhurt if husbands and wives would give each other the respect of not correcting each other and hold our eyes from rolling.