If a man does not feel respected, he cannot feel loved
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- “I do not need you to tell me what to do.”
- “I am a grown man”.
- “I hear this every month when you get ready to start your period.”
- “You worry over EVERYTHING, Honey.”
- “You never believe me when I tell you things”.
- “Have a little faith in me.”
- “Do you not even believe in me that much?”
- “I can’t please you. If I don’t do what you want, you are unhappy. If I do what you want, you say I am only doing it because you told me to.”
- “I can’t win here.”
- “I am in a no win situation.”
- “It is the same thing, over and over with you.”
- “What hurts me the most is that you don’t trust me with the kids.” (I know he would NEVER let anything happen to our children. I just wish he was more cautious with them. STILL and issue I am going to have to confront it at some point but I need to deal with simply letting go first).
- “No man wants to be without respect.”
- “Trust me.”
- “You always believe the worst about me.”
- “No man wants to be talked to like that.” (in reference to a couple we know)
- “She talks to him like a dog.” (in reference to a couple we know)
- “I told you I would take care of it.”
- “You don’t believe me when I DO compliment you.”
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- clenching his jaw
- a hurt look in his face
- his countenance falls
- he shuts down verbally
- he leaves the room suddenly for “no reason”
- he gets angry “out of nowhere” and you can’t understand why
- he unplugs from you
- he becomes very emotionally distant
- he doesn’t respond to your texts/calls
- he begins spending a lot more time watching tv, working on projects, working overtime
- he says, “I feel disrespected.” (please believe him! You would want him to believe you if you said, “I feel unloved.”)
- he pulls away and doesn’t share his heart anymore with you
- He starts talking about “some tangent” when you are trying to make him do something he doesn’t want to do.Some more things men/husbands tend to say when they feel very disrespected by their women
He says things like:
- “It’s impossible to please you.”
- “You think you are always right.”
- “My opinion doesn’t even matter around here.”
- “Your family (or best friend or church) is more important than I am to you.”
- “Why do you even ask me what I think? You never listen to me.”
- “I’m not a priority to you anymore.”
- “You’re smothering me.”
- “You act like you’re my mother.”
- “I’m not a child.”
- “Stop treating me like I’m a child.”
- “I’m not an idiot.” “I’m not stupid.”
- “Let me figure it out.”
- “Who cares what I think, you’re just going to do what you want to do anyway.”
- “I’m just a meal ticket to you.”
- “You can’t just demand time/affection/attention from me.”
- “I’d rather be at work than here.”
- “I can’t take all of your drama anymore.”
- “No man could love you like you want to be loved. Not even Jesus!”
- “Why can’t you just be happy?”
- “You worry way too much. Stop worrying.”
- “Why are you so negative?”
- “Why do you complain all the time?”
- “Oh, here we go again!”
- “Why do you have to be like this?”
- “Why should I be more involved with you? You’re just going to undermine everything I say.”
- “How can I be a leader if you won’t follow?”
- “You say you want me to lead, but you won’t let me lead.”
- “You want to control me.”
- “It has to be your way or no way.”
- “You think you are so high and mighty.”
- “Go ahead, have it your way!”
- “Don’t come to me when everything falls apart.”
Arguing with them that they shouldn’t feel disrespected, or WORSE – that they don’t deserve respect – is going to make things much worse.
“Did I do/say something disrespectful just now?” And if you did say something like, “I am SO sorry. Please forgive me. I don’t ever want you to feel disrespected by me.” Do not justify or explain yourself. Just apologize – if he says that you were disrespectful to him.
AN ASSIGNMENT
I’d like you to watch your man’s facial expressions this week when you talk to him. If you see his face suddenly fall – if you see he suddenly seems to be in emotional pain – STOP what you are saying and recognize, is it possible he feels disrespected by you?
Whether there is a special man in your life right now or not, I’d like you to watch the interactions of couples around you. Watch the guy. Notice his body language and his facial expressions – especially when his lady is criticizing him, making fun of him, tearing him down, telling him what to do, complaining, arguing or being negative toward him. See the pain in his face.
Once you begin to recognize disrespect and how men react – you will quickly realize that it is EVERYWHERE. There is a FAMINE of respect for men in our culture.
It’s time for us to change that, my precious sisters in Christ!
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What Does Respect Look Like to Men?