THANKS SO MUCH FOR CHOOSING TO READ TODAY'S ARTICLE..PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO FIRST BEFORE READING THE ARTICLE.. IT IS AN AMAZING SONG BY WORLD RENOWNED RECORDING ARTIST JOHN LEGEND
Things between you and your loved one began perfectly. You saw them, and they saw you and it was...WOW! You approached them, and their swagger was right. They knew all of the right things to say and you knew that your unison was divinely inspired. Then you began to date, and at first there was nothing but smiles, hugs, kisses, love notes, seamless cenarios, and an un-tamable attraction to one another BUT..... Somewhere along this cruise in that 2 door convertible Benz called L.O.V.E. you came upon the stifling realization that you were driving 100 miles an hour into a dead end. What happened? How did we not see the warning signs earlier on the road?
What were we doing while driving, where we could not foresee this outcome??
So many of us run into this issue in our relationships. Everything seems to be going perfectly until we realize that something really devastating has happened. You're asking yourself, why is that? WHY DOES THAT HAPPEN, AND WHY DOES THAT HAPPEN IN MY LIFE ALL THE TIME?? Let's examine an amazing parable that my best friend wrote in the book of Matthew
7:24-27(CLICK ON THE SCRIPTURE REFERENCE FOR LINK TO ONLINE BIBLE)
The Wise and Foolish Builders
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
So..What do you think?? Self-explanatory isn't it? It seems self- explanatory, but the truth is that many of us who just read the aforementioned segment of scripture will "understand" what was said but not put it into practice. This scripture is the reason that relationships fail. RELATIONSHIPS FAIL BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT BUILT ON A SOLID FOUNDATION. You're squinting and shaking your head at me.. LOL!
Every good initiative must begin with a plan. An agreement to abide by a certain set of governing rules or guidelines. If I'm gonna start a business, I 'll need to start the business with a mandate, a vision; a plan. Relationships work in the same way. Relationships need to be built upon values that are stronger and more powerful than our "bad behavior", mood swings, anger and frustration, and even our passion for our partner. You ask why?? Well..
When you have a foundation that is solid, righteous and designed to sustain the weight of trials, tribulations, and tough times, you don't need to rely on your emotions (which will definitely let you and your loved one down, and probably destroy your relationship) to guide you through issues. WHAT WE DO IS BASE OUR RELATIONSHIPS ON THINGS LIKE: PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, WEALTH, SEXUAL CHEMISTRY, FAME etc. This is our society's epic issue in relation to relationships. We are pathetic and totally vain, and this garbage way of thinking has lead us into this divorce- filled, partner- hopping conundrum that we have "ever so graciously" found ourselves clawing through.
I know some of the Christians reading this article are patting themselves on the back thinking.."Those non- believers need to do what we the church have done, so that divorce rates would resemble those that are found among us church- goers." My response to Phil the Pharisee is,
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHA! (A really messed- up sinister hahah too)
THE HONEST TRUTH IS THAT THE CHURCH IS THE WORST EXAMPLE FOR MARRIAGE ON THE PLANET!!!! The divorce rates among Christians is astounding, and as a believer I am TOTALLY EMBARASSED. It's so hard to demonstrate to people that the God we serve is still alive when WE ("Christians") don't live victorious lives. Let me say this to you...The reason why the church is failing in the area of marriage like the rest of the world is that we are building our relationships on sand, just like everyone else!!!!
Relationships will last if they are built upon the word of God. We need to love each other with a love that is selfless and totally focused upon pleasing the other person. The other person's love needs to be focused on pleasing us. Respect, forgiveness, understanding and patience are some of the tools that the word of God teaches us, and we need do live them out. Lets look at some scripture (FOUNDATION- BUILDING GUIDELINES) that will help us to organize our relationships.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is a good place to start..
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
The scripture set written above is soooooo deep. It seems so practical, and easy but it's not. Living out these principles takes a lot of work, and by work I mean mistakes, and by mistakes I mean arguments and tough times. We learn through our mistakes, but to spare ourselves any further anguish, we need to
take Paul's advice and do what he says. How?? How do I do that you ask?
We need to pray and ask God to help us build this foundation. We need to ask Him to show us when and where we've gone wrong, and when He does we need to apologize to our partner and move on. We need to ask God to support us as we REALLLY TRY HARD to live out his commands and better our lives through His wise instructions. It is God's will to see people stay together. Jesus says in Mark 10:9,
9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
That reminds me.. Pray and ask God (Providing that it is HIS WILL) to keep you and your loved one together, and He will continue to whisper 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 in your heart, spirit, and soul.
Be Blessed and remember that "WE'RE JUST ORDINARY PEOPLE.. WE DON'T KNOW WHICH WAY TO GO.."
