What Every Husband Needs

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.
—Proverbs 18:22

As we continue to look at how to have a strong marriage, we will look at the needs of husbands. Just as wives have unique needs in marriage, husbands have unique needs as well. It is important for wives to have an understanding of the basic needs every husband has.

Number 1: sexual fulfillment. A friend once said, “If a wife has a good day, she’ll have sex. If a husband has sex, he’ll have a good day.” I’m not saying women don’t have sex drives, but there is something so strong about the male sexual drive that it renders us temporarily insane at times. That is why you see men doing crazy things to have that need met.

Number 2: recreational companionship. Every man wants somebody to do things with. After all, God said it is not good for a man to be alone. And wives, understand, your husband doesn’t like to be alone. He would prefer to have you alongside him. So find something you enjoy doing together. The couple that plays together, stays together.

Number 3: an attractive spouse. I’m not talking about getting plastic surgery. I’m just talking about taking care of your appearance to make sure that you somewhat resemble the person your husband married. These are simple things like fixing your hair, wearing jewelry, or putting on makeup. Give some attention to your appearance. By the way, this goes both ways. It is important for husbands to take care of themselves and stay physically fit as well.

Number 4: domestic support. Studies have shown that the longer a marriage goes, the less interested men become in household chores. Usually newlywed husbands are interested in helping around the house. But then husbands become more focused on work because they feel the need to provide for their family. If both spouses work outside the home, you need to split household responsibilities. But wives, there are some things that may be important to your husband around the house. It may be preparing dinner or putting the kids in bed at a certain hour. You two together figure out what you can do to make that happen around the house.

And number 5: admiration. Men crave respect. You’ve seen this before: a man leaves his wife for another woman and people say, “She is not nearly as attractive as his wife. Why would he go with her?” Many times that other woman is giving him the respect and admiration that he wants at home. Tomorrow we will look at how wives can meet their husbands’ needs in this area.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “What Every Woman Wants, What Every Man Needs” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2009.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.