Do These Things Really Help?

(This will be moved to the Pastoral Insight page)
Shared by our Pastor:

 

I left off... saying something like we've been educated about everything under the sun but no one ever explained marriage. So, in essence, we are left to fend for ourselves with desperate prayers and occasional help from family and friends who are often not any better educated in this area than we are. From the day we are born, we’re forced to develop relationships with people, and sadly, the trial and error approach results in many errors that leave deep wounds. More often than not, we react to our spouses in ways that do not serve our marriage or even our own selfish needs. Nonetheless, we do it over and over again, hoping for different results. The Bible does teach us how to maintain happy, healthy, and godly marriages, but how often we forget or neglect these teachings. No one is perfect, so it’s only natural that we’d make some mistakes, even with the best of intentions. But unless you know how to correct these mistakes, and take action quickly to do so, these mistakes can, and often do, destroy marriages. Proverbs 14:1 teaches us that a wise woman builds her house; a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands. People keep making the same mistakes even though they seem to be the right thing to do. Let me give you a short list of what seems right but in reality, slowly kills the marriage and pushes your spouse further away:

1. Asking friends and family for advice – Scripture does say there is safety in many counselors (Proverbs 11:14), it also says talking too much lead to sin (Proverbs 10:19)
2. Trying to reason with your spouse
3. Promising him or her that you will change
4. Hoping or wishing the marriage will survive
5. Offering your spouse reassurance
6. Telling him or her that you love them
7. Trying to “work on” the marriage

I am not against Christian counseling but what if your spouse doesn't want to go, then what?

 

Until tomorrow...