18 Mar Dishonesty In Marriage
The Color of Marriage Devotional
Today’s Devotion – DISHONESTY IN MARRIAGE
Dishonesty can reasonably be defined as the absence of the entire truth. Therefore, all that has to be done to cause something that you are doing or saying to be dishonest is to leave out the truth concerning what you have done or said. It doesn’t matter how much of the truth you leave out; leaving out any amount of the truth makes it dishonest.
So, with that being said, have you considered how much of the truth you actually leave out during conversations and interactions with your spouse? It’s vital that you realize your propensity to leave out portions of the truth. Many times, one of the following sources can be the reason why you do this. And by the way, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list.
1. To keep yourself or others from being embarrassed.
2. To guard against hurting someone’s feelings.
3. Being mean & spiteful.
4. To conceal your guilt
5. So you won’t have to tell the truth.
6. You’ve done it so much that you have become accustomed to doing it without thinking.
No matter the reason, God doesn’t want you to be dishonest in life, in your relationships, and with Him. Being dishonest in marriage or any situation puts you on the same level as a liar. Now, you might not want to be equated with being a liar, but in reality, that’s what it is. When you leave out the truth for any reason, you are telling a lie, and there is no other way to put it.
For example, if you say that you are going to do something and leave out a small portion of what you said that you would do without telling your spouse, that would be considered dishonest, and it would also label you as telling a lie. I still remember the time when my wife called me a liar. I was very confused and had no idea what she was talking about. After asking her a couple of times what she was referring to, she told me. She said that every time I told her that I would do something and didn’t do it, I was telling her a lie. Now, was I trying to be dishonest with her? Of course not. I don’t remember arguing too much with her about whether or not I was a liar; I accepted what she was saying as fact.
From then on, I made sure that I did what I said I would do, and if I could not do it, I made it my business to let my wife know. I also never again promised to do something that I knew I would not be able to do. Over-promising and under-delivering is nothing but a lie, and this is something that you and I must accept as being valid.
In closing, you are dishonest whenever you say something that does not contain the whole truth. Also, you are dishonest whenever you don’t do what you said you would. You can’t expect your marriage to be the best that it can be when you are dishonest. Therefore, pay attention, and be intentional about not being dishonest by telling the truth. And if you don’t want to pay the price of telling the truth, then don’t do anything that you will have to lie about.
Key Marriage Scriptures for today’s devotion:
Proverbs 6:16-19, Proverbs 10:9, Proverbs 12:19, Proverbs 16:18, Jeremiah 17:9, Galatians 5:16, Galatians 6:7, Ephesians 4:25, Colossians 3:9-10, & James 1:22-25
Next steps to take:
The next time you find yourself wanting or feeling the need to be dishonest in marriage, read the key marriage scriptures for today’s devotion. After reading them, pray and ask God to help you put the instructions that are given in each passage of scripture into action in your marriage. If you or your spouse need help with presenting the whole truth about any situation, get help—schedule time with a counselor who can help you understand the root cause of your dishonesty. However, if you want to get good results from the counseling session, you’ve got to make up your mind to be honest and stop hiding the truth no matter how much it hurts or exposes your flaws.
Since we’re on the subject of flaws, we all have flaws that need to be uncovered so that a solution can be presented to correct whatever is causing the flaw to be active in our lives. Many times, though, we hate and like our flaws at the same time. The reason for this is that our flaws bring us some type of enjoyment along with the misery that tags along as a reminder of why our flaws are not good for us. God provides us a remedy for this if you and I are willing to receive it. Read the following passages of scripture to find God’s solution, and if you want help putting these instructions into action, contact The Color of Marriage Christian Marriage Counseling.
Romans 13:12-14, Galatians 5:16, & 1 Corinthians 10:13
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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