Honor God and Finish Together

“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 (NIV)

Be the most amazing and fulfilling source of romance for your spouse. Stay spiritually fit and physically fit. Learn your spouse’s primary love language by reading Dr. Gary Chapman’s book, The Five Love Languages. Make intentional deposits into your spouse’s emotional love tank. Communicate understanding. Resolve conflict. Place his or her needs before your own. “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4 NIV).

In his book, His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage, Dr. Willard Harley identifies the top five needs of men as: sexual fulfillment, recreational companionship, an attractive spouse, domestic support, and admiration. The top fives needs of women are: affection, conversation, honesty and openness, financial support, and family commitment. Dr. Willard Harley has found that marriages that fail to meet a spouse’s needs are more vulnerable to an extramarital affair.

Next time you are tempted to look beyond your spouse for romance, ask yourself this question, “Will this decision honor God and benefit my family and our future?” Another good question to ask, “Will this decision allow us to finish together?”

• “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.” Proverbs 4:25 (NIV)

• “Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:26-27 (NIV)

Extend the love you have received from God to your spouse. Choose to extend the grace you have received from God to your spouse. Celebrate your differences. Honor God and finish together.

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell