August 25, 2006

Avoiding The Greener Grass

LISTEN TO ODB RADIO: Real | MP3 | WMA

Let each one of you . . . so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. —Ephesians 5:33 Nancy Anderson says she grew lukewarm in her faith and thus believed the world’s lie: “I deserve to be happy.” This led to an extramarital affair that nearly ended her marriage. She wrote her book Avoiding The Greener Grass Syndrome to help keep her painful story of infidelity from “becoming someone else’s story.”

In her book, Nancy offers six action suggestions on how to build “hedges” to protect your marriage and to help make “a good marriage great”:

Hear—give a listening ear to your spouse.
Encourage—build up your spouse by focusing on positive qualities.
Date—celebrate your marriage by playing and laughing together.
Guard—establish safeguards by setting clear boundaries.
Educate—study your mate to truly understand him or her.
Satisfy—meet each other’s needs.

The grass on the other side of the fence may look greener, but faithfulness to God and commitment to your spouse alone bring peace of mind and satisfaction.

When you avoid the greener-grass syndrome by loving and respecting your spouse, your marriage will be a picture of Christ and His church to those around you (Ephesians 5:31-32). —Anne Cetas

When you look at someone else’s life,
Thinking that it’s better than your own,
Just remember what God’s given you
Was designed for you alone. —Hess

Jesus Christ is the only third party in a marriage who can make it work.

Bible in One Year: Bible in One Year: Psalms 119:1-88; 1 Corinthians 7:20-40