Instrument Rated – Part 7

Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun — all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labor under the sun. Ecclesiastes 9:9

Instrument rated for marriage. Today Christian marriages are falling apart at the same rate as non-Christian marriages. And those who go through it need our love, not our condemnation. But clearly, something’s wrong that needs to be put right! Two of the leading causes of divorce are financial stress and pornography. When you become overextended by purchasing things you can’t afford and don’t need, you’re heading into trouble. And when you open your mind to sexual fantasy, you entertain images your mate can’t live up to, and your relationship begins to deteriorate. Solomon writes, ‘Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes’ (Song of Solomon 2:15). Notice the word ‘tender’. When we fail to treat one another tenderly, graciously, lovingly, considerately, and with respect, the plane we’re flying in together takes a nosedive. A neglected partner is vulnerable to anyone who comes along. Resentment wells up and takes over. If God’s Word doesn’t work in your home and in your marriage, then it won’t work anywhere else! An instrument-rated Christian understands that the secret of having a good marriage is not just in finding the right person, but in becoming the right person. And that can only happen when you make a daily commitment to living by the principles of God’s Word and demonstrating the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The story is told of one spouse who said to the other, ‘I never knew what real happiness was until I married you – now it’s too late.’ Unless you want that to be your story, start tending the home fires.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me to stay focused on You in the development of my closest relationships and treat others tenderly. In Jesus’ Name, Amen