Recently … my body told me it wasn’t as strong as it used to be … so I joined a gym. The trainer smiled and re-assured me I could get a lot my old self back … and promptly started me on an exercise program to strengthen my “core” … you know those muscles in our backs … stomachs … shoulders and sides that support our heads … arms … legs … fingers … toes. … so when we build our core … we strengthen our entire body …
As I was trying to soak away my aches and pains in a hot bath … it occurred to me that there is a lot of similarity between building our bodies and strengthening our marriages. There are core, or foundational, ingredients that all of the other aspects of our marriages are built upon.
Some of these are: faith … commitment … unconditional love … safety … trust … and one that we often overlook … personal responsibility.
Because no marriage will ever be stronger than its weakest spouse; we need to be intentionally working to become the best man or woman … God wants us to be!
When our personal responsibility is weak … we blame our spouse for the condition of our marriage … we say : if he would just do that …or … if she didn’t do this … healthy personal responsibility means we stop blaming our spouses and look at our own lives first … Jesus asked the question: “Why do you look at the speck in your spouse’s eye … but don’t notice the log that is in your own eye?”
So, we build stronger marriages by asking ourselves: How am I contributing positively or negatively to making our marriage the best it can be? What are some areas I need to strengthen in my personal life that will make a positive impact on our marriage?
Paul David Tripp declared: “I am my biggest marital problem!”
So If you want a better marriage … ask God to help you become a better you!
