Truth In Love

Speak truth

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4: 25-27 How many times have we told a big fat lie? OK what about just a tiny white lie? Telling the truth can be extremely difficult, especially when the answer is something we don’t want to hear. How can we be truthful with our spouses and do it lovingly? The balance between truth and love is a very thin line. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. John 3:21

If we are saved, then we are full of the Holy Spirit, and prayer is essential before any possible confrontation. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance on the words that we say. The next thing to consider, is are we speaking biblical truth? Can you back up your argument with scripture? If you can, lead with that. Never try to be truthful when you are angry, it will always come out wrong. The fruits of the spirit are gentleness, humbleness, and patience. Have those conversations bearing those fruit. Once we have had a possibly difficult conversation, there may be hurt feelings and even anger. The Bible is very clear about going to bed angry. DON’T DO IT. At least tell your spouse you love them and kiss him goodnight. The devil doesn’t need our help in getting a foothold in our lives and marriages. He does a great job all by himself.

Seek to do Good

No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. 1 Corinthians 10:24. This phrase goes directly back to our topic last week about agape love. The kind of love that puts you before me. If this is so for the way we should treat our other brothers and sisters in Christ, how much more does it apply to our spouses? We should have the desire to want to see our spouse thriving and doing good in this world. Never should we want to bring them any harm. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. 1 Thessalonians 5:15. The word strive means to work towards something. It doesn’t mean that we always succeed. God knows how much we struggle with sin and temptation and he knows that our husbands and kids can drive us mad, but we must strive to keep our behavior and our mind on what God would be pleased with. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. Romans 2:7. God rewards his children when we follow his rules. He doesn’t make rules just to be a mean father and hold over our heads what He is not allowing us to do. No, he makes us obey his rules so that we stay safe and don’t get hurt. It’s the very same reason why you don’t let your children play in the street. God wants the love that we have and show our husbands to be a representation of how He loves us. Of course, we won’t fully understand what God’s love is truly like until we get to heaven, but in the meantime, we can certainly STRIVE to show that kind of love to our spouse.