Many marriages today are being burdened by pride, and many couples don't even realise it. Humility in marriage is important. Just as Jesus Christ showed the utmost humility and selflessness when He expressed His love for the church, we too as spouses should grow in the area of humility and selflessness.
As a husband who often falls short, I have come to realise just how foundational humility is in my marriage. The times that my pride manifests are the times that I become a burden to my wife instead of being a blessing. When I focus on my needs, on being right in every argument, on having an advantage in every situation and on getting less responsibility, I always end up offending, hurting and dishonouring my wife and my God.
The greatest danger to marriages today is a sense of entitlement. When we feel entitled to satisfaction, authority or reciprocity, we are mistakenly setting ourselves or our spouse as the foundation of a marriage. When that happens, it doesn't matter how good of a spouse you think you are or how good of a spouse you think your partner is, you're both going to fail at some point.
In a marriage, there is no foundation more stable than Jesus Christ. Ecclesiastes 4:12 tells us, "And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken."
When marriage is about two imperfect and helpless people – you and your spouse – chances are trials and temptations can get the best of you. But when we include the reliable and unbreakable strand that is Jesus Christ, we can withstand any storm that comes our way.
It doesn't matter how much financial struggle, temptation, fights, disagreements and challenges come your way – if you have Jesus on your boat, you'll never going to sink.
And that's another reason why humility matters. Often Christian couples don't bother inviting Jesus on their boat because they think that they're fine without Him.
We think that God might just ruin the ride or may just pull us in a direction that we don't want to be heading. When we do that, we put pride on the rudder instead of Christ. But when we allow humility to reign in our hearts and admit that we can never build our marriage on our own and that we need God's grace to guide us, God works miraculously to save your marriage.
Is pride blocking your faith and reliance on God who only wants a good and prosperous marriage for you and your spouse? Have you resolved to progressively allow Jesus to work on your pride as we allow Him to take control of your marriage?
