On Being Engaged...And Beyond

Recently overheard:

Young man recently engaged:  "Yep, come May I'll have an ol' ball & chain!"

Now, before we go any further, I want to tell you about this young man.

This young man has trusted Jesus as his Savior.  And I believe he loves the Lord and wants to serve Him with his life.  He has a wonderful godly family, a wonderful sense of humor, is multi-talented, and is now engaged to a beautiful godly young lady.

And I know he made the above statement entirely in jest and that he loves his bride-to-be with all his heart.

So why even bring it up?

Well, because God has taught me some things over the years.  And one of those things is that even in jest, the things we say impact our attitudes.  The things we watch - like those "funny" and "harmless" tv shows (the ones the bash the dad for being an idiot, or promote living together without being married, or lift up rebellious kids as being funny and cute, etc, etc, etc) - those things impact our attitude.  These things are subtle and seem like "not a big deal."

Exactly what Satan would like us to believe.  That it's no big deal.

But here's the challenge:  What if, instead of talking about our spouses as balls & chains - even in jest - we talked about how precious they are to us?  How much we love and appreciate their sense of humor?  Their gentleness? Their godliness?  What if we actually talked about them the way we actually feel - or should feel?  I guarantee that the man who treats his wife (or fiance) as a precious gift from the Lord, AND talks about her that way, will develop an even deeper love and appreciation for her than he has today.  I guarantee that the woman who treats her husband (or fiance) as her knight in shining armour and talks about him as such, will, in fact, HAVE a knight in shining armour!

We are too often unaware of how powerful our actions (words, deeds) impact our attitude - and then impact those we love.  A one-time jest may be no big deal...but all too often, a one-time joke becomes a habit...and a habit becomes an attitude...and an attitude affects our relationships.

So be careful what you say - treat your spouse in a way that  honors God - and you just might be surprised at how your spouse responds!  :)