Competing VS Completing
Marriage
Ephesians 5:31- “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
As one flesh, we should be working together, building each other up and being helpmates…
Definition of helpmate -a helpful companion or partner, especially one's husband or wife.
Companion- a person who shares the experiences of another, especially when these are unpleasant or unwelcome.
We are to be there in their hard to help to complete them; we are not to compete with them. We are not pointing out that our hard is harder than theirs, or that we do more than them, or that we are better than them.
When your spouse comes home talking about their hard day, do you ask them about their day and pray with them or for them? Or do you say, “ you think your day was hard, “I had too_________”
When your spouse tells you they need help, do you lift them up and say, “what can I do?” or do you say “What? You think I don’t do enough, or as much as you?”
When there is an issue you need to work out, do you confront your spouse and communicate with them? Do you tell them all the things they are doing wrong to make you feel a certain way, and attack them in a confrontational way? Or are you communicating openly about how you are feeling and the way their actions affect you? There is a huge difference.
Are you responding to your spouse in love or self gain? Are you loving them and fulfilling their needs, or are you only seeking self fulfillment and gain out of what you do for them?