Week 4: Chapters 3–4 — She Needs Love; He Needs Respect

1.Eggerichs cites research suggesting that when men were asked whether they would rather feel unloved or disrespected, the overwhelming majority chose to feel unloved. Similarly, women overwhelmingly chose to feel disrespected rather than unloved. Did these findings surprise you? How do they challenge assumptions you may have held?

2.The author argues that a wife's need for love is not conditional on her deserving it — and that Ephesians 5:25 commands husbands to love 'as Christ loved the church,' meaning sacrificially and unconditionally. What does unconditional love actually look like in the day-to-day texture of a marriage?

3.Eggerichs argues equally forcefully that a husband's need for respect is not conditional on his deserving it either. How does the idea of unconditional respect sit with you?