SEARCHLIGHT
Are there any little things that are spoiling your marriage?
SCRIPTURE
Catch all the foxes, those little foxes, before they ruin the vineyard of love, for the grapevines are blossoming. Song of Solomon 2:15 New Living Translation
SPOTLIGHT
What could keep you from experiencing a happy and healthy marriage? Two big things that can present difficulties in a marriage are a family member or your ego.
The story is told about a mother who described to her friend the marriages of her children. “My daughter was fortunate! She married a fellow who is so helpful. He frequently washes the dishes. He helps with their baby and even cooks some of the meals. But my poor son! He really got a bad deal! Why that woman he married is so unjust. Believe it or not, she expects my son to wash dishes, help with their baby and even prepare some of the meals! My heart really goes out to him!” This mother presented a BIG problem to her son’s marriage.
One woman told her friend why she was single. “I could have married anybody I pleased.” With great surprise, her friend said, “Then why are you single?” The woman responded, “I never pleased anyone.” [Robert Savage, Pocket Smiles] This woman’s ego presented a BIG problem to her ever experiencing a happy and healthy marriage.
There is something that could easily be overlooked when trying to build a happy and healthy marriage. Smaller things can ruin it. Solomon wrote about them in his book. Read the above Scripture focus. He identified that there are “little foxes” that can greatly harm your marriage. Let me identify some: being picky, criticizing your spouse privately and even worse publicly, focusing on failures, sarcastically making a remark while trying to pretend it to be funny, comparing your spouse to someone else, holding a grudge, impatience, not forgiving quickly. The list goes on and on. Any one of these can create an undesirable and miserable living situation.
Don’t overlook the smaller things that can harm your relationship. They are things that you think, say, or do. Presuming that your spouse knows something is a very poor way of thinking. People are not mind readers. Harsh speech is a wrong way to make an important point. When you do things that are thoughtless and unkind, you are harming your relationship.
Jesus Christ instructed you not to overlook any size sin when He said, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” [Mark 11:25 NIV] See also Matthew 5:23,24. Unfortunately it is easy to disregard “small” sins. Too often, you can allow the little ones to slide by. They can accumulate into something big and someday burst.
What are you going to do to safeguard your marriage from little fox spoilers? How can you grow romance? What can you do to be a more loving, thoughtful, and forgiving spouse? Take the following steps to guard your marriage from the little fox marriage spoilers:
- Do not overlook little things that irritate you or your spouse. Little problems left unchecked can cause division. Address potential conflicts. Remove the threats.
- Take precautions. Work at building and maintaining a healthy, happy relationship. Guard your thoughts, words, and actions. Aim to have a blossoming relationship as described in Song of Solomon 7:12 which states, “Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom-there I will give you my love.”
- Ask Jesus Christ to fill you with 1 Corinthians 13 divine love. Pray to be daily filled with the Fruit of the Spirit. [Galatians 5:22-26]
SOMETHING TO DO
Take 3 separate moments over the next 3 days to do the following:
Day 1-Take a moment to read 1 Corinthians 13 in different Bible versions. Then do the same
with Galatians 5:22-26. God will fill you with His divine character when you ask Him.
Day 2-Take another moment to think about any little spoilers that you may be overlooking.
Day 3-Take a special moment to pray, asking God to fill you with His love and character.
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I want to be aware of the little foxes that can rob my marriage of health and happiness. Fill me with your divine love. May the Fruit of the Holy Spirit flourish in my thoughts, words, and behavior. AMEN! AMEN!