Pride In Marriage

09 Apr Pride In Marriage

The Color of Marriage Devotional

Today’s Devotion – PRIDE IN MARRIAGE

In order to have a great marriage, you must be willing to do what’s right even when you don’t want to do it. As you let what you just read sink in, ask yourself the following question. What is the one thing that would keep me from doing what I know is right in my marriage? And, as you think about your answer to this question, let me tell you my experience concerning this.

I remember like it was yesterday, leaving the house for work and being mad at my wife. We just had an argument. Now, this wasn’t just any argument, but one that left me boiling hot and riding in the back of someone’s pickup truck. This person saw me walking to the bus stop and offered me a ride, so I hopped in the bed of his truck and he quickly took off. 

I had never experienced this before but nonetheless, we were on our way with the wind blowing at the back of my neck and me having second thoughts about what I just did. I started thinking to myself, why did I get on the back of this truck, I should have just walked to the bus stop, and will I be able to get off of this truck alive? 

I thought about jumping over the door of the pickup, but we were going way too fast for that. So, I set tight and prayed and before I knew it we were at the bus stop. Whew! At that time, my heart stopped racing, I became calm, and I thanked God as I jumped off the back of the truck and thanked the driver for dropping me off.

I made it to work thinking about the argument and how I needed to apologize to my wife because it was really my fault and I knew it. However, for whatever reason, I didn’t want to apologize. I knew that I had to do this though, even as I walked out the door that chilly dark morning. 

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I prayed and asked God why it was so difficult for me to make an apology that I knew I had to make. After praying, I waited for Him to answer. The answer didn’t come right away, however, it did come right around midday while I was talking to one of my coworkers about something that I don’t remember, but I do know that the conversation led to my answer.

Pride, God said. That’s the reason why you don’t want to apologize to your wife, your pride. I was relieved when I got that answer because now I could do what I was not able to do several hours earlier.  I was excited, this was the very first time in my marriage that something like this had happened and I was glad. This is not to say that I had never prayed before in my marriage, but this was the first time that I can remember that I focused on getting the answer to my prayer in my marriage. By the way, this is now known as one of the first steps of Marriage Replenishment.

Soon after that, I called my wife on the phone, told her what had happened, and found myself apologizing for my behavior. It was not the best apology that I ever made, but nevertheless, it was an apology that I nor my wife will ever forget. This experience was the beginning of my learning how to do what I did not want to do even though I needed to do it in my marriage. And this takes us back to the opening statement, which is, in order to have a great marriage, you must be willing to do what’s right even when you don’t want to do it. You must be able to recognize and put into action that which is right for your marriage according to God’s standard.

Pride in marriage can be the one thing that would keep you from doing what you know is right in your marriage. It has the ability to cause you to think that you are above mistakes, above your spouse, and above having to account for your wrong actions. So, with that being said, don’t let your pride, which is your exaggerated sense of importance, become an enemy of your marriage and cause you to refuse or be unable to make the right decision in your marriage if you indeed want to have a great marriage.

Are you allowing your pride to keep you from having a great marriage? You do this when you take actions such as refusing to make an apology as I did. This is done because you feel like you are making yourself look less than perfect or how you want your spouse to see you, which is above being wrong. This was a great lesson for me, and I pray that you will learn from my experience.

When husbands and wives are willing to do what’s right even when they don’t want to, Great Things Happen.

Key Marriage Scriptures for today’s devotion:

James 4:6 (ESV) – But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

James 4:17 (ESV) – So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Other key marriage scriptures to read – 

Proverbs 11:2, Ephesians 5:22-33, Galatians 5:16-26, Colossians 3:17, Philippians 4:6-7, James 1:5, James 5:16, 1 Peter 3:7, and 1 John 1:9

Next steps to take:

Read all of the key marriage scriptures for today’s devotion. Be intentional about recognizing when your pride is becoming a negative factor in your marriage. Overcome evil with good as it is mentioned in Romans 12:21 (English Standard Version), which says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”. Evil is whatever you do that is not in line with the will of God.

We are here to help. We offer online Christian Marriage Counseling to help you and your spouse overcome pride in 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.

Use this link to schedule your courtesy telephone consultation.