📖 1 Petro — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 7: Wake na Waume📖 1 Peter Intensive — Unit 7: Wives and Husbands

Somo: 1 Petro 3:1-7Text: 1 Peter 3:1-7

Wake: Kuwavuta Waume Pasipo NenoWives, Won Without a Word

Petro amekuwa akilifundisha kanisa zima jinsi ya kuishi chini ya wenye mamlaka — raia chini ya serikali, watumishi chini ya mabwana zao — na sasa anageukia nyumbani, akianza na wake. "Vivyo hivyo ninyi wake, watiini waume zenu; ili, ikiwa wako wasioliamini neno, wavutwe kwa mwenendo wa wake zao, pasipo lile neno; wakiutazama mwenendo wenu safi, na wa hofu" (1 Petro 3:1-2). Inafaa kuona jinsi Petro anavyotoa nafasi kubwa hapa. Anawaambia wake karibu mara sita zaidi ya atakavyowaambia waume, na sababu ni hali ya pekee waliyokuwa nayo wanawake wengi hawa. Mara nyingi mke alikuwa amemwamini Kristo baada ya kuolewa, hivyo sasa mwanamke mwamini alikuwa akiishi na mume asiyeamini. Kwake hasa Petro anatoa mbinu ya nguvu tulivu: amvute mumewe si kwa mabishano bali kwa maisha yake.Peter has been teaching the whole church how to live under those in authority — citizens under government, servants under masters — and now he turns to the home, beginning with wives. "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear" (1 Peter 3:1-2). It is worth noticing how much space Peter gives here. He says about six times as much to wives as he will say to husbands, and the reason is the special situation many of these women were in. Often a wife had come to faith after marriage, so that now a believing woman was living with an unbelieving husband. To her especially Peter gives a strategy of quiet power: she is to win her husband not by argument but by her life.

Hapa somo lazima liseme kwa uaminifu, kwa sababu kwa sikio la kisasa neno lenyewe "kutii" linasikika kuwa si la haki, na jambo lolote linaloashiria mke kumnyenyekea mumewe huitwa haraka kuwa la kizamani. Hata hivyo Petro analisema, na Paulo anasema karibu jambo hilo hilo, kwa hiyo lazima tuulize wanamaanisha nini hasa. Hawamaanishi kwamba mwanamke ana thamani ndogo kuliko mwanamume, wala kwamba yeye ni mtumishi asiye na sauti; kama tutakavyoona, Petro anawaita mume na mke warithi sawa wa neema ile ile. Utii anaouamuru ni wa hiari, unaotolewa kwa uhuru, na una lengo — kumvuta mume. Ukieleweka sawasawa na kuelezwa kwa uangalifu, utii wa kibiblia unageuka kuwa jambo tofauti kabisa na utumwa mkali ambao wakosoaji wake wanaudhania.Here the lesson must speak honestly, because to the modern ear the very word "submission" sounds unfair, and anything that suggests a wife yielding to her husband is quickly branded as backward. Yet Peter says it, and Paul says almost exactly the same thing, so we must ask what they actually mean. They do not mean that a woman is worth less than a man, nor that she is a servant without a voice; as we shall see, Peter calls husband and wife equal heirs of the same grace. The submission he commands is voluntary, freely given, and it is aimed at a goal — the winning of the husband. Rightly understood and carefully explained, biblical submission turns out to be something very different from the harsh subservience its critics imagine.

Maneno yanayokumbukwa kutoka katika historia ya seminari hii yenyewe yanalionyesha jambo hili kwa tabasamu. Andi Cook — mke wa marehemu wa mwanzilishi wa seminari, na yeye mwenyewe mwalimu aliyependwa sana hapa — alikuwa akisema kwamba aliamini mke anapaswa kumnyenyekea mumewe kikamilifu. Lakini kufikia wakati alipomaliza kueleza alichomaanisha hasa kwa neno hilo, kulikuwa kumebaki kidogo sana cha utumwa mkali ndani yake, hata karibu hakuna kilichobaki cha ile picha potofu. Ndivyo ilivyo na amri hii: kile kinachosikika kikali mwanzoni hulainika, kikielezwa kwa uangalifu na uaminifu, kuwa jambo ambalo mwanamke mwamini anaweza kulipokea kwa furaha.A remembered remark from this seminary’s own history makes the point with a smile. Andi Cook — the late wife of the seminary’s founder, and herself a much-loved teacher here — used to say that she believed a wife should be subservient to her husband. Yet by the time she had finished explaining what she actually meant by the word, there was so little of the harsh subservience left in it that scarcely anything of the caricature remained. That is just how it is with this command: what sounds severe at first softens, under careful and honest explanation, into something a believing woman can embrace with joy.

Hili linaonekana wazi hasa katika habari ya mke mwamini na mume asiyeamini. Utii wake unapaswa kuwa wa hiari, kamwe si wa kulazimishwa. Na shauri la Petro linashangaza: asiwe aina ya mhubiri nyumbani, akimhutubia mumewe na kumbishia Injili siku baada ya siku. Huwezi kumsumbua au kumbishia mwenzi asiyeamini hadi aingie katika ufalme wa Mungu. Hilo linawezekana tu kwa unyenyekevu na maisha ya utauwa. Mume asiyetaka kusikiliza mahubiri, kwa miezi na miaka, hataweza kumpuuza mke aliyebadilishwa anayeishi kwa utulivu na uzuri mbele ya macho yake.This is especially clear in the case of the believing wife and the unbelieving husband. Her submission is to be voluntary, never forced. And Peter's counsel is striking: she is not to become a sort of preacher in the home, lecturing her husband and arguing the gospel at him day after day. You cannot nag or argue an unbelieving spouse into the kingdom of God. It can be done only by humility and a godly life. The husband who will not listen to a sermon will, over months and years, be unable to ignore a transformed wife living quietly and beautifully before his eyes.

Kuvutwa kwa Maisha ya UtauwaWon by a Godly Life

Historia ya kanisa inatoa mfano unaong'aa. Monika, mama wa Augustino maarufu, aliishi na mume asiyeamini na mgumu, lakini kwa ushuhuda wake na maombi yake Mungu, kwa wakati wake, aliwavuta mwanawe na mumewe wote wawili kwa Kristo, ingawa mumewe hakuokoka hadi muda mfupi kabla ya kifo chake. Augustino alikumbuka kwamba mama yake alimtumikia baba yake na kutafuta kumvuta kwa Mungu si kwa maneno bali kwa mwenendo wake, na kwamba tabia hiyo hiyo ilimfanya apendeze machoni pa mumewe. Maisha yake ya uvumilivu, ya maombi na ya utauwa yalifanya kile ambacho hakuna hoja ingeweza kufanya.Church history offers a shining example. Monica, the mother of the famous Augustine, lived with an unbelieving and difficult husband, yet by her witness and her prayers God in time won both her son and her husband to Christ, though her husband was not converted until shortly before his death. Augustine remembered that his mother served his father and sought to win him to God not by words but by her conduct, and that this very behavior made her lovely in her husband's eyes. Her patient, prayerful, godly life did what no argument could have done.

Jambo hilo hilo bado linatokea. Palikuwa na mwanamke mcha Mungu katika kusanyiko moja ambaye mumewe hakuwa mwamini na, kwa habari zote, alikuwa mtu mgumu na mkali. Yeye hakuendesha gari, hivyo kabla hata ibada haijaisha mumewe angefika nje na kubonyeza honi kwa muda mrefu, akikosa subira ili atoke. Bila neno la kulalamika angesimama kimya na kutembea hadi kwenye gari. Mwaka baada ya mwaka tabia yake thabiti na ya neema iliugusa moyo wake mgumu — na mwishowe yule mtu mgumu akawa mwamini, akiwa amevutwa na mwenendo wa utauwa wa mkewe. Hii ndiyo hasa nguvu Petro anayoieleza: maisha yaliyobadilishwa waziwazi kiasi kwamba yanahubiri bila kusema.The same thing still happens. There was once a godly woman in one congregation whose husband was not a believer and was, by every account, a hard and difficult man. She did not drive, and so before the service had even ended he would pull up outside and lean on the horn, impatient for her to come. Without a word of complaint she would quietly rise and walk out to the car. Year after year her steady, gracious character pressed against his hardened heart — and in the end that hard man became a believer, won by the godly behavior of his wife. This is exactly the power Peter is describing: a life so plainly changed that it preaches without speaking.

Utu wa Moyoni UsioonekanaThe Hidden Person of the Heart

Sasa Petro anaeleza aina ya uzuri unaovuta. "Kujipamba kwenu kusiwe kujipamba kwa nje — yaani, kusuka nywele, na kujitia dhahabu, wala kuvalia mavazi — bali kuwe utu wa moyoni usioonekana, katika vazi lisiloharibika la roho ya upole na utulivu, iliyo ya thamani kuu mbele za Mungu" (1 Petro 3:3-4). Petro hamkatazi mke kutengeneza nywele zake au kuvaa pete; anamfundisha mahali uzuri wa kweli ulipo. Mapambo ya nje hufifia, na sura iliyopangwa kwa uangalifu kuliko zote haiwezi kuivuta roho ya mume. Lakini utu wa moyoni usioonekana — tabia ya ndani iliyovikwa roho ya upole na utulivu — haufifii; hauharibiki, na ni wa thamani mbele za Mungu Mwenyewe. Roho ya upole na utulivu si udhaifu wala hulka ya woga; ni utulivu wa kina na thabiti wa moyo uliostarehe ndani ya Mungu, nao unavutia zaidi sana na una nguvu zaidi sana kuliko pambo lolote ambalo fedha inaweza kununua.Peter now describes the kind of beauty that wins. "Do not let your adornment be merely outward — arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel — rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 3:3-4). Peter is not forbidding a wife to fix her hair or wear a ring; he is teaching her where real beauty lies. Outward adornment fades, and the most carefully arranged appearance cannot win a husband's soul. But the hidden person of the heart — the inner character clothed with a gentle and quiet spirit — does not fade; it is incorruptible, and it is precious in the sight of God Himself. A gentle and quiet spirit is not weakness or a timid personality; it is the deep, settled calm of a heart at rest in God, and it is far more attractive and far more powerful than any ornament money can buy.

Inashangaza kwamba huu ndio uzuri ule ule ambao Mungu Mwenyewe anauthamini. Ulimwengu hutumia mali nyingi kwa mapambo yanayofifia na karibu hauuoni uzuri unaodumu, lakini kipimo cha mbinguni ni kinyume chake. Roho ya upole na utulivu ni roho ile ile ambayo Kristo Mwenyewe aliionyesha, nayo haiwezi kununuliwa, kupakwa, au kuvaliwa kwa jioni moja; hukua polepole katika moyo unaotembea na Mungu. Uzuri wa namna hiyo haufifii kadiri miaka inavyopita bali huzidi kuongezeka, nao una mamlaka tulivu ya pekee. Mke aliyepambwa hivyo huipendekeza imani yake kwa nguvu zaidi kuliko hoja yoyote ingeweza, na huifanya Injili anayoiamini ionekane nzuri kama ilivyo kweli, hata tabia yake yenyewe inakuwa mahubiri ambayo watu wa nyumbani mwake hawawezi kuacha kuyasikia.It is striking that this is the very beauty God Himself prizes. The world spends fortunes on the adornment that fades and scarcely notices the beauty that lasts, but heaven’s estimate is the reverse. A gentle and quiet spirit is the same spirit Christ Himself displayed, and it cannot be bought, painted on, or worn for an evening; it is grown slowly in a heart that walks with God. Such beauty does not fade with the years but deepens, and it carries a quiet authority all its own. A wife adorned in this way commends her faith more powerfully than any argument could, and makes the gospel she believes look as lovely as it truly is, so that her very character becomes a sermon her household cannot help but hear.

Binti za SaraDaughters of Sarah

Ili kuonyesha kwamba hili si fundisho jipya wala la ajabu, Petro anaelekeza nyuma kwa wanawake wacha Mungu wa zamani. "Maana hivyo ndivyo walivyojipamba zamani wanawake watakatifu waliomtumaini Mungu, wakiwatii waume zao. Kama Sara alivyomtii Ibrahimu, akamwita bwana; ambaye ninyi sasa mmekuwa watoto wake, ikiwa mnatenda mema, wala hamkutishwa kwa hofu yo yote" (1 Petro 3:5-6). Wanawake watakatifu wa Agano la Kale walikuwa wazuri kwa namna hii hasa: walimtumaini Mungu, na kutokana na tumaini hilo waliwaheshimu waume zao. Sara ndiye mfano mkuu, mama wa waaminio, aliyemtendea Ibrahimu kwa heshima kubwa kiasi kwamba alimwita bwana. Kisha Petro anasema jambo la ajabu kwa wanawake waamini wanaosoma barua yake: wao ni binti za Sara — watoto wake wa kweli wa kiroho — ikiwa wanatenda mema na kukataa kutawaliwa na hofu. Mwanamke anayemtumaini Mungu anaweza kutenda yaliyo haki bila kuogopa kwa kitisho kile kitakachokuja, kwa sababu tumaini lake halitegemei hali zake bali Bwana.To show that this is no new or strange teaching, Peter points back to the godly women of long ago. "For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror" (1 Peter 3:5-6). The holy women of the Old Testament were beautiful in exactly this way: they trusted God, and out of that trust they honored their husbands. Sarah is the great example, the mother of the faithful, who treated Abraham with such respect that she called him lord. Peter then says something wonderful to the believing women reading his letter: they are Sarah's daughters — her true spiritual children — if they do good and refuse to be ruled by fear. A woman who trusts God can do right without being terrified of what may come, because her confidence rests not in her circumstances but in the Lord.

Waume: Nguvu na HurumaHusbands: Strength and Tenderness

Petro anawaambia waume machache zaidi, lakini anachosema kina uzito. "Kadhalika ninyi waume, kaeni na wake zenu kwa akili; na kumpa mke heshima, kama chombo kisicho na nguvu; kwa kuwa ninyi nyote ni warithi pamoja wa neema ya uzima; kusudi kuomba kwenu kusizuiliwe" (1 Petro 3:7). Mume anapaswa kuishi na mkewe kwa busara, akijitahidi kumwelewa, na anapaswa kumpa heshima. Maneno "chombo kisicho na nguvu" hayamaanishi kwamba ana thamani ndogo au uwezo mdogo; yanaonyesha picha ya kitu cha thamani kilichotengenezwa kwa ustadi, kinachopaswa kushikwa kwa uangalifu, nayo yanamwita mume kulinda na kuthamini badala ya kutawala kwa ukali. Kisha Petro anasawazisha uwanja kabisa: mume na mke ni "warithi pamoja wa neema ya uzima." Tofauti yoyote ya majukumu iliyopo nyumbani, mbele za Mungu wanarithi wokovu ule ule kwa kipimo sawa; yeye ni sawa naye kwa thamani na kwa neema. Kwa hili Petro anaongeza onyo zito: mume anayemtendea mkewe kwa ukali ataona kwamba maombi yake yanazuiliwa. Mtu hawezi kuwa sawa na Mungu wakati hayuko sawa na mkewe.Peter says less to husbands, but what he says is weighty. "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered" (1 Peter 3:7). The husband is to live with his wife thoughtfully, taking the trouble to understand her, and he is to give her honor. The phrase "the weaker vessel" does not mean she is worth less or is less able; it pictures something precious and finely made, to be handled with care, and it calls the husband to protect and cherish rather than to dominate. And then Peter levels the ground entirely: husband and wife are "heirs together of the grace of life." Whatever difference of role the home may have, before God they inherit the same salvation in equal measure; she is his equal in worth and in grace. To this Peter attaches a sobering warning: a husband who treats his wife harshly will find that his prayers are hindered. A man cannot be right with God while he is wrong with his wife.

Basi mume atafanyaje mambo haya yote? Shauri bora ni hili tu: mume Mkristo anapaswa kujifananisha na Yesu Kristo. Ndani ya Kristo tunaona mchanganyiko mzuri wa nguvu na huruma, na mchanganyiko huo ndio hasa unaohitajika ili kuwa mume mwema — nguvu bila ukali, huruma bila udhaifu. Lakini hakuna mtu anayeweza kumwiga Kristo akiwa mbali. Mume hawezi kufuata mfano wa Kristo isipokuwa kwanza amemjua Kristo kama Mwokozi wake na kujinyenyekeza Kwake kama Bwana, akitumia muda kila siku katika Neno na katika maombi. Na hapa maagizo ya Petro kwa wake na kwa waume yanakutana: mume na mke Wakristo wanapaswa kuomba pamoja na kutiana moyo katika imani, ili nyumba isiwe mahali pa kugombania madaraka bali ushirika wa warithi wawili wanaotembea pamoja kuelekea neema ile ile.How then is a husband to do all this? The best counsel is simply that a Christian husband should pattern himself after Jesus Christ. In Christ we see a beautiful blending of strength and tenderness, and that combination is exactly what it takes to be a good husband — strength without harshness, tenderness without weakness. But no man can copy Christ from a distance. A husband cannot follow Christ's example unless he first knows Christ as his Savior and submits to Him as Lord, spending time each day in the Word and in prayer. And here Peter's instructions to wives and to husbands meet: a Christian husband and wife are to pray together and to encourage one another in the faith, so that the home becomes not a place of struggle for power but a partnership of two heirs walking together toward the same grace.

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