What about “Love Languages” (5 ways that people feel loved)? What about our personality type and temperament? Being a male or female is not all there is to us! It is not that simple. Of course, differences should not be ignored either, but so many other things come into play. In Genesis, Adam proclaimed with joy that Eve was “ bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” We have plenty in common! I don’t think it is healthy or balanced to focus primarily on difference. While I agree that men are men and women are women, let us not forget that we are both human beings. But what if you and your spouse aren’t exactly like this? Repeated throughout the book is a refrain to remember that women are pink and men are blue! Don’t forget! Often in the book there are demarcating statements that men are one way and women another way. Related to this, there is much emphasis on the differences between men and women.

Every type of problem or issue boils down to the man not being respected and the woman not feeling loved – emphasis on the former. A dictionary definition of simplistic: “treating complex issues and problems as if they were much simpler than they really are.” – Bingo! That describes this book.Įverything is pushed into a love and respect paradigm. There is nothing wrong with a book being simple – that is, presenting concepts in an easy to understand way. in the book proclaims what is different about the Love & Respect book: “Many books on marriage stress the need for husbands to love their wives, but the unique feature about this book is the concept of wives showing unconditional respect towards husbands.” – I will let that speak for itself.įirst, this book is simplistic. Problems in your marriage? The answer is that the female has failed to show unconditional respect to her husband. The premise of this book is based on a verse in Ephesians 5 that says: “ each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Pulled from this is a rigid paradigm that “women need love and men need respect” and this is literally and exclusively taken as the key for marriage. This could be a multi-part review, but I will try to focus on key concerns and keep it to one post of reasonable length. Yet, when something gains popularity it can unfortunately be accepted at face value without much discernment because of its ubiquitous nature. In one sense, this leaves me scratching my head in puzzlement as the problems in this book are overt. Love & Respect hardly needs an introduction, having sold over 1 million copies – this book and its premises are a commonplace perspective in many evangelical churches, marriage ministries, and among Christian counselors. Love & Respect, The Love She Most Desires, The Respect He Desperately Needs by Dr.

Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs