-


Viewing Marriage Realistically




God's purposes for marriage extend far beyond personal happiness.
We have to stop asking of marriage, what God never designed marriage to give — perfect happiness, conflict-free living, and idolatrous obsession.

What God designed marriage to provide are : partnership, intimacy and the ability to pursue God — together.

Looking to another human to complete us perfectly is idolatry. We are to find our fulfillment and purposes in God . . . and if we expect our spouse to be 'God' to us, he or she will fail every day. No person can live up to such expectations.

Everyone has faults, each person's warts differ from the other person's spots and boils. Deep inside, each one of us has the inclination to be downright selfish. Despite these imperfections, God created the husband and wife to steer each other in His direction. In marriage, God designed a YOU-centered relationship for a ME-centered world

God isn't against happiness per se, just that marriage promotes even higher values. For example, when your spouse forgives you . . . and accepts you, You learn to receive God's forgiveness and yourself as well. In that moment, he/she is modeling God to you, revealing God's mercy to you, and helping you to see with your own eyes a very real spiritual reality.

If happiness is our primary goal in marriage, then we'll get a divorce as soon as happiness seems to wane. If receiving love is our primary goal, we'll dump our spouse as soon as he or she appears to be less loving. But if we marry for the glory of God, to model His love and commitment to our families, and to reveal His witness to the world, then divorce would make no sense.

The following tips may help to sustain a God-centred marriage:
1 - Focus on your spouse's strengths rather than his/her weaknesses.
2- Encourage rather than criticize.
3- Pray for your spouse instead of condemning.
4- Learn and live out what Christ teaches about relating to and loving others, unconditionally.
5- Note that we are called to respect everyone — including our spouses.
6- when we are frustrated or angry, instead of pulling back, we must still pursue our partner under God's mercy and grace.




Adapted from Focus on the Family

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Sidestep an Affair

-
Image
  👗            👖 SEVEN  - 7️⃣- ways to avoid emotional and sexual affairs* 1. Don’t trust yourself Don't also over trust your partner he/she is human  Life happens. Feelings happen. Most people don’t plan to have an affair before they have one. Keep 2 👀 eyes open in your marriage and run when u have to.  Also keep encouraging each other not to be too close to the opposite sex.  If ur husband is getting to close to someone in your environment, step in and be the 3rd party in that friendship. Most women will run once a legitimate partner walks in.   Watch each other's conversations and acquaintances.  Be accountable to each other in terms of relationships. Keep your phones accesible to each. ( some  of us would not like that last one, but it's the way to go if you really want marriage as it should be ) 2. Stay far from old flames.  Social media is probably the easiest way to stay connected with old crushes....
Read more

𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙀𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 - 𝙀𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙩 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙤 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢

-
Image
Preparing for Marriage While Enjoying the Single Life.   You see, too many people prepare for the wedding day, but not enough prepare for the marriage itself. So if you’re single and believing God for marriage—or even just curious about what to do in this season—this is for you." This episode is also for married people who wish to make their marriages better. You can always go back to pick some wisdom you missed that can make your marriage better.  🎙️ before u enter marriage Understand the Purpose of Marriage  Why do you want to get married . Because of sex and romance okay but t Marriage isn’t just about romance,  .  It's about partnership, mutual support and about fulfilling purpose Genesis 2:18 says, 'It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him.' Ecc 4:9.10 Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NLT Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. [10] If one person falls, the other can reach out and help....
Read more

Your marriage is intact but how about your financial integrity?

-
Thou shall not commit adultery .... ...m eans don't divorce. Divorce in our churches is the sign of decreasing spirituality. That u are a pastor does not exempt you of spiritual responsibility to grow , deny yourself, and gain victory over the flesh. Christianity calls for sacrificial love but we have extreme love of self and love of pleasure instead . Instead of forgiveness we are totally intolerant and holier than Thou. We are impatient with our children spouses and domestic helps. We are carnal and mundane and temporal in our world view. If am not enjoying it then it is not of God. This spiritual failure is the reason for divorce. It is a phenomenon that manifests in other areas of life but it is not noticed in those areas. Our failures in financial integrity is not published because our society tolerates certain levels of corruption . In fact if you do not cut corners in certain financial dealings you are accused of being over spiritual and not wise. But the occurrence of ...
Read more