The success of a good marriage is clearly shown in the Bible both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Unfortunately we live in a world where people have decided to do things their own way - ending up with many broken hearts and sorrow for wrong and foolish decisions in life. If one is to follow divine precepts, their marriage will certainly last. Many relationship breaks down because either it is between a boy and a girl, a boy and a woman or a girl and a man. Gods blue print is for a mature man and a mature woman to be united in marriage. It is not for immature and emotionally unstable people to be united in marriage. When you have such, there will always be mistrust, jealously, pride and suspicions which are basically recipe for disaster. Also it would be foolish for a woman to marry someone who is not engaged in any meaningful employment! Why marry a lazy person? Why marry someone who will not look after you and the children? The Bible says Adam was fully engaged in his job of looking after the Garden of Eden before God brought Eve to be his wife. Adam had a job (Genesis 2:15). He wasnt a lazy person. He was industrious and engaged in employment. People give excuses that there is no job to do. Well that is not entirely true. If someone wants to work, they will find work to do. One doesnt necessarily have to work for other people. One can actual work for themselves in business or in the village on their land or by using their God-given talents and skills to generate some form of income. If we read what God has prescibed in the Bible, we see Love, Respect and Honour between husband and wife. We see submission to one another between husband and wife. We see togetherness and unity between husband and wife. We see transparency, openness and undertanding between husband and wife. We see the divinely ordered place of man and woman in a home and family. Importantly, we see that a man must leave his parents and unite to his wife. The same thing goes to the wife. She must cleave and be united to her husband so that pressures from their relatives and extended family members become less important in their family. Mariages are often destroyed because of outside influence from so-called friends and extended family members. A married man must put the interest of his wife and children first before the interest of his extended family members. Similary, a married woman must put the interest of her husband and children first before the interest of her extended family members. That is Gods ordained way and is the right way. If help is to be given to extended family members, it has to be discussed openly between husband and wife, agreed upon before it is given so that both parties are not being secretive to aviod unnecessary suspicion and tension within their family. Even bank accounts must be transparent in family between husband and wife! Old testament: And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:15-25 KJV) New Testament: Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. (Ephesians 5:20-33 KJV) Have blessed weekend my friends.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 15:23:53 +0000