Respect is such a concept that is lacking in most of our marriages and since we hit on this Sunday Morning, I thought it would serve us well if, for our marriage Monday column, we sought to apply the concept of respect to our spouses.
I defined respect as really an expression of kindness: “Being respectful is a disposition and attitude of treating others with kindness, recognizing their value.” Many times we fail to respect our spouses as we ought, because there is some selfish thing clouding our vision. We have lost sight of the value they are to 1) God and 2) Us. You may think that you would be better off without your spouse at times, but that is nothing more than blasphemy. God has brought you together and man is not to separate you (even a thought of you being independent of your spouse). Therefore, we will respect our spouse to the degree that we value them.
How can we value and respect our spouses? Continue to look for evidences of grace (as C.J. Mahaney would say) in your relationship. There are positives you can find if you get your eyes off the weaknesses. Look at those positives and be an object of encouragement. This will hae an effect on your respecting them.
We want to glorify God in our marriages. Let’s do this by respecting one another.