What To Do With a Controlling Spouse
by Dr. Gary Chapman   

Controlling spouses - they can be difficult to live with.  The positive side of a controlling personality is that these people get things done.  They take charge, solve problems, and make decisions. 

The down side is that in marriage their spouse often feels like a child.  The controller does not ask for their advice.  And if they do, they seldom take it seriously.
 
So, what are you to do if you are married to a controller?  Some people capitulate.  They give up and find their fulfillment in the children, or their work, and simply accept a poor marriage. 

I think it is far more rewarding to 'stand up'.  I don't mean to argue. I mean you agree with the controllers intentions, but don't yield to their demands.  Your attitude is, "I love you too much to let you treat me like a child." 

Article written by Dr. Gary Chapman.  Based on the book, Desperate Marriages   by Dr. Gary Chapman. Published by Moody Publishers. 

For a complete listing of Dr. Chapman's books and resources,click here.  

Husbands Honor Wives By Prioritizing Their Marriage 
by Bryan Chapell      

The headship that honors Christ brings glory to women.  

A husband further affirms his wife's value by obeying Scripture's command and giving his union with his wife precedence over other family relationships, even that with his own parents (Eph. 5:31).

This instruction does not annul our lifetime responsibilities to honor our parents but it places priority on the marriage relationship.

Ann Landers and daytime television talk shows would run out of material if all men were to honor the Bible's hierarchy of relationships.

The Bible says that a man shall "leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto [or be united with] his wife" (Gen. 2:24). The traditional wedding vows many couples still repeat capture the leaving and cleaving principle. The groom promises his bride to "forsake all others and cleave only unto her."

This is more than a caution for in-laws to keep their distance and let the new couple make their own lives together.  

The couple promises to make their marriage relationship a higher priority than all others. The man who keeps this promise honors his wife and his marriage.