28 Feb Deceived In Marriage
The Color of Marriage Devotional
Today’s Devotion – DECEIVED IN MARRIAGE
It’s pretty clear that today’s devotion is about being deceived in marriage. What’s not so obvious is how you and your spouse might be deceived in your marriage. You can be deceived in marriage in many ways, and you might be thinking about one of those ways right now. However, this devotion will more than likely be in an entirely different direction than what you’re thinking, so let’s get started.
To be deceived could mean that you have been misled. It also could mean that you are believing information that’s false or inaccurate. Finally, being deceived could mean accepting erroneous information that causes you to pass on incorrect information to your spouse, making them believe something is true when it really isn’t. Now, all of these explanations of being deceived happen to bleed over into the other; however, the last description stands out on its own and is what today’s devotion is about.
This particular version of being deceived is specifically about when you tell your spouse a lie, rather intentionally or unintentionally. The lie being told answers whether or not you are what your spouse has said you are. For example, your spouse might say that they sometimes feel like you are stubborn, and they give their reasons why. Without thinking, you deny their claim and explain why you don’t accept their assertion. Your rejection causes your spouse to doubt their statement and receive your lie, which leaves them deceived. Why? Because had you taken your spouse’s claim seriously, you would have seen that they were right in what they said. This is not always the case, but for the most part, it is, you have to be honest with yourself concerning this.
At first, being deceived in marriage will be looked upon by your spouse as them making an error in judgment. This verdict will stand until your spouse starts to see evidence through your behavior that their claim is valid. At this point, at least one of three things will happen. You might deny your spouse’s claim again, despite the evidence that says otherwise, deceiving yourself and your spouse. It could be that your spouse will not agree with you negating their evidence, leaving only you being deceived (more than likely by choice). Hopefully, though, you will agree with your spouse, stop deceiving and being deceived, and seek a way to change the unwanted behavior, whatever it may be.
If you want to stop deceiving and being deceived in marriage, start listening to the concerns of your spouse without becoming defensive. If you are not sure about the assertions of your spouse, ask God to reveal the truth and act accordingly. If you are the spouse sharing the issues, pray before communicating with your spouse about what you believe to be a difficulty in the marriage and respond appropriately. God doesn’t want you to be deceived in marriage; therefore, take actions that will prevent this from happening any further in your marriage.
Key Marriage Scriptures for today’s devotion:
Proverbs 10:9, Proverbs 11:3, Proverbs 12:22, Proverbs 16:18, Jeremiah 17:9, Galatians 5:16, Galatians 6:7, Colossians 3:9, & James 1:22-25
Next steps to take:
Practice the content of today’s devotion. Don’t automatically reject your spouse’s concerns without thinking them over through prayer and meditation. Get help when you can’t come to a reasonable conclusion about each of you being able to accept and work through your shortcomings when they are presented as a concern.
We are here to help. We offer online Christian Marriage Counseling to help you and your spouse work through the difficult moments of your marriage. We also would like to help you understand and live out God’s plan for marriage so that you can build a Christ-centered marriage that you can enjoy.
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