Additional Read: Protecting The Maiden

Exposition of the Code: Protector of the Maiden

A man must be a protector of the maiden in several areas. Fathers must be protectors of their daughters. Brothers should protect their sisters. Husbands must be protectors of their wives. Lastly, Christian men in general must be courteous toward, and the protectors of their sisters in Christ.

... As Christ loved the Church

This might seem upfront and simple. Fathers are to protect their daughters. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. - Point taken – if an enemy ever walks up and threatens your wife, should you be willing to lay down your life for her?

The application, however, goes much further than that. Christ so loved the church that He was willing to lay down His life for her – the illustration of Him laying down His life shows the intensity of His love. If He was willing to make that sacrifice for her in that great way, do you not think He would do the same in the small things as well?

You must not merely die for her, You must live for her. Live a perfect, selfless life. So that your righteousness might be imputed to her. Take her pain and sorrows on your shoulders and bore her pain. Prayed for her. Put her before Yourself. Be humbled that she might be exalted.

The first enemy that you must protect the maiden from is…
You.

The Danger oF Lust. - What good will all your kindness do if your thoughts are corrupt and evil? Will you be an honourable lord on the outside and not within? A maiden does not need to be protected by an insincere lord.

The Danger is Selfishness. You must not think overly about yourself. You must be ready to care for her and put yourself before her. What if what is best for her – what God has planned for her – does not involve you in her future? Are you willing to have faith in where God will take you, whether to marriage or life in singleness? Which priority comes first in your mind – her happiness or your own?

Maidens do not need lords to stress out about impressing them or to be constantly in their faces. They do not need the relentless pursuit of boys who wish to include them in their futures no matter what it takes. Sometimes they simply need brothers to talk to; men who will take a stand to protect them; men whose first goals are God’s glory and the happiness of their sisters, not their own worries or interest. They need self-sacrificing, faithful, God-fearing, heroic, lordly men.

It requires a lot of sacrifice. It requires a lot of patience. If anyone knows about that, Christ does.