Key #7 - Like Your Spouse

Whoa boy! This is a big one. You’ve seen them, right? Those couples who can’t get enough of each other!  I don’t mean physically. I’m talking about they always want to hang out with one another, and they are always missing each other when they are apart for “5 minutes”, and they send each other text messages throughout the day, and they give each other sweet looks from across the room, and they put notes in each other’s lunch, and they each think the other is the most clever person they’ve ever met, and they laugh at each other’s jokes, and they have their inside jokes, and they relish every moment together. You know…THOSE couples! J

PRAISE GOD for those couples! These are also the couples who tell me that they married their best friend. These are the couples who have been sacrificial and gracious and patient and forgiving and tender with one another. Think about your best friend and how you feel about him or her. Do you feel that way toward your spouse?  If not, what can the two of you do to cultivate those positive feelings?  Maybe it starts with just treating one another as good as you treat your friends.  If you do feel that way about your spouse, stop reading right now and go give him or her a high-five!

If you are not yet married, think about this before you consider marrying. If you don’t deeply like (not love) them now and if you can’t imagine being lifelong friends with the person you are dating, that is something to think and pray about. If you stripped away the excitement of romance, being in love, and physical attraction, would you still like them? Would you still enjoy them? What would attract you to them? Would you want to be friends with them for the rest of your life? Do you respect how they live their life? Do you respect their decision making…their level of wisdom…their character?  Proverbs 31:30 points out that good looks will fade and charm can be deceptive. Consequently, we should want to become one with the man or woman of God that we truly enjoy being with, who fears God and will put Him first. That is someone you can like for a lifetime!