Making the Most of Your Marriage; a 7-Day Healing Journeyનમૂનો

Topic: Marriage is a privilege, not an entitlement.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves." — Philippians 2:3 (NIV)

Are you treating your marriage as an entitlement or a privilege?

An entitlement mentality in marriage makes you believe you’ve earned the right to be in your spouse’s life, probably because of your money, possessions, faith, or even character. Entitlement says, “I deserve to be here, I earned this,". But marriage is not an entitlement. It is a privilege of partnership—a divine invitation to walk alongside another child of God on your journey through life and on your way to eternity.

A sense of entitlement in marriage is fleshly, and anything ruled by the flesh will be governed by pride, anger, and strife. This is probably why your marriage is experiencing a lot of tension and frustration. Entitlement is never contented; it makes you demand from your spouse what you should be focused on giving. It makes your partner's contributions to you seem inadequate, no matter how sincere or sacrificial they are, and it continues to demand service while refusing to serve.

Entitlement convinces you that your spouse owes you, and that your spouse exists to meet your needs, rather than to walk beside you in mutual love and service.

Many couples get so lost in entitlement that they forget how short life is. They spend their days keeping score, holding grudges, and demanding more, not realizing that every moment spent with your spouse is a divine opportunity to enjoy companionship.

If you treat your marriage as a privilege from God, you will give your total commitment and dedication to the health of your union out of reverence for the One who entrusted it to you.

Misunderstandings will become opportunities to learn and grow. Disappointments become avenues for grace to flourish and love to mature. You listen more attentively, approach issues more gently, forgive more quickly, and live with each other in understanding.

The truth is, many reach old age not with joy, but with regret—because they spent their short time on earth living unhealthily with the one person God gave them to cherish most.

Marriage should be approached with humility and gratitude to God for the opportunity to walk this difficult journey of life with a companion. Your marriage will only be as healthy as you are, and the Spirit of God will only move as much as you both allow Him to.

Prayer: Dear Father, forgive me for looking to be served when you’ve called me to serve. Help me to treat my marriage as a divine assignment where I reflect your love through humility, grace, and commitment. Strip away pride, selfishness, and entitlement and replace them with hands that serve and a heart that honors my spouse, in Jesus’ name.