One schoolteacher who died by suicide wrote about her medical doctor’s husband: ‘He married my job, not me.’ (Indian Express, 20 March 2025) It is sad to observe that the world is full of greed and covetousness. It is a violation of the Ten Commandments, which forbids covetousness and murder, even instigating suicide. (Exodus 20:1-17)
Dowry: The cultural worldview is that the husband is a god, and the wife is not a goddess, but a slave. Hence, a slave woman has always had to please her husband, god. This begins with the first Dakshina (offering) to her husband, which is called dowry. Her parents had given 2.6 million rupees as dowry, but were not satisfied, and demanded a car, which was also provided. The husband’s family loved her job because it brought handsome money, or dowry, in installments.
No Dignity – working maid: The abused and frustrated teacher wrote that she was not treated with dignity as a wife. When God created Eve for Adam, she was a companion and helpmeet. But today husbands want a beautiful, earning, hard-working maid, not a wife. She had to work in school and, at home, take care of a son, husband, and in-laws, all of them making demands on her.
Not give, only receive: In her family life, her husband and his family members did not have an interest in giving, only obsessed with receiving. There is no sense of reciprocity. They wanted care, but could be careless regarding this hapless woman.
Cannot please: Trying to please all, she was emotionally broken, physically tired, and mentally tense, so she opted – suicide. Sadly, she did not know that suicide was not the solution at all. Instead of standing up for her rights and resisting evil, she gave in to became a victim of evil.
Priority: For a husband, wife is the first and foremost priority. That is the law of marriage, which is the covenant. The Bible commands husbands to love their wives. When the priority is dowry, car, monthly income, mother, father, siblings, and wife are at the bottom; there is a disaster.
Is my family life biblical?