While there are many privileges of being married, those privileges should never be the focus of our individual responsibilities. The focus should always be on obeying the guidelines within marriage that God has laid out for us His children to follow, and we will reap the privileges that come with His blessings if we do so, and they are great!
Everyone, even non-Christians can benefit from God’s instructions if they are applied properly. However, like playing a game, most people are more interested in “playing the game”, than learning the rules to guide them in their participation.
Years ago I was playing, “You Sank My Battleship” with one of my grandsons. Since he had never played the game before, I explained carefully to him what the rules were.
As we began playing, we were laughing and having fun. After a very short time he no longer wanted to play by the rules, but wanted to do a little cheating on the side to advance his torpedoes and blow me out of the water.
Upon my rebuking his cheating, he told me that, “it was only a game” and that it was okay if he wanted to have two turns in a row, as well as taking a look at my layout, to determine where I had placed my battleships.
Of course by doing that, he would know exactly what numbers to call out, to have a direct hit on my ships every time. Then having two turns to my one turn, he would quickly win the game.
While I explained to him that “winners never cheat and cheaters never win”, I did not want to play with him any longer if he did not want to abide by the rules of the game. Upon my telling him that, he quickly assured me that he would do it the right-way the next game, because he said; "he loved me and wanted to sink some more of my battleships!". I remember thinking to myself upon hearing that, that he finally got it and gave a hearty chuckle!
You see, marriage is kind of like playing “You Sank My Battleship”, it can start out just fine in the beginning. Both people can be having a blast and then someone wants to cheat on the rules a little. Then one of them wants to change the rules and before you know it, they have blown the other one out of the water.
Sadly, the rule changers want to play the game to reap the benefits by winning the wrong way. In some marriages, people will allow themselves to be guided by the rewards instead of doing it the right way. Some want the benefits without putting the proper work into it and the work is oftentimes is timely and daunting.
In the end the rewards would be much greater, if they were accomplished by the proper means that it takes to win and this applies to anything we do in this life.
Life is good and can be fun, but it is not a game and we must get back to doing things the right way, in our choices and how we are living.
"But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it they will be blessed in what they do."
James 1:25
Hold Fast,
-Bren
