How a Family Should Be Structured According To The Bible, What is Spouse Abuse? The Bible is Sufficient For All of Our Answers

Eph 5:22-33
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
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Even though the Bible tells the wives to submit to the husbands, the husbands have a greater responsibilities to their families. The husband must love their wives as Christ loves the church and gave himself up for her. The husband in this case would put his wife and children ahead of him, he would make sure they are taken care of before he himself is taken care of. He will give up his own wants for the wants of his wife and children. He will look after their overall welfare and put that above his own. He will do what is best for them as a spiritual leader to promote Christian growth for them. He will lead them to follow God's Word and if a wife submits to him, she would find out that it was more beneficial for her. It is unfortunate that many husbands do not follow that guideline and thus he hurts his whole family that way.

Spouse abuse: Anything you do to your spouse without their consent is abuse - that includes name calling, hitting, sexual activities, forcing them do do things they do not want to do, humiliating them, degrading them, slandering them, making them look bad, ruining their reputation, threatening them, controlling them, hurting them either physically or emotionally, endangering them, etc. Anything you do with a mutual consent is ok. Consent is that both people are ok with it and no one is uncomfortable. If you want something that your spouse is uncomfortable with, don't try to talk them into it, let them initiate it if they feel like it later on. They will know what you want, and never make them uncomfortable, when they initiate the action, that means they are ok with it at the time. Always communicate with each other at an off time so that when an "on time" comes both of you will know what each other wants or how each other feels. Making your spouse uncomfortable is abuse. Not considering your spouse's feelings is abuse.

2 Tim 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
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The Bible is all we need for all things in life. The Bible teaches us how to live our lives, how to bring up children, and gives us guidelines as to what is abuse and not abuse. If you study the Bible closely, you will find that the Bible does not promote abuse. The Bible uses methods of discipline on children that does not cause harm to them if you research the origional Hebrew and Greek root words. Anything that causes harm to a child is abuse.

By Rodney Calmes