‘Lazy people irritate their employers, like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes.’ Proverbs 10:26(NLT)
‘Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.’ Proverbs 20:4(NLT)
‘Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. ‘ Colossians 3:23-24(NLT)
In my book “7 Secrets to an Awesome Marriage,” the final secret is fight. It is all about fighting together on the same team for your marriage. This manifests itself in many different ways as each couple is unique. How one couple ends up fighting together for their marriage will vary from what another couple fights for in their marriage. The key is that when we fight together we are on the same team. We are seeking the same things for our marriage. It’s the “two are better than one” concept.
As I look at the couples that have come to me for marriage counseling over the years, there is a commonality to many of them. They just got lazy. They quit pursuing. They quit putting out effort. They quit doing the things that won each other’s hearts in the first place. Sloth.
To have an Awesome Marriage, you have to work together every day to build that marriage. It is being intentional today, tomorrow and all the future tomorrows. There is no time off. There is no vacation from marriage. Yet, there is not another relationship God has given us in this life that can be more fulfilling than the marriage relationship.
Sloth seems to be the extreme of laziness. Sloth destroys, laziness damages, and neither will work in a marriage.
Today’s Challenge:
How has sloth crept into your marriage? How can you attack it now?
Going Deeper:
1. How do you see that “sloth” is one of the root causes of many of the problems in marriage?
2. What happens over time if one person is doing all the work in a marriage?
3. What are some of the excuses people make in a marriage to keep them from doing what they need to do?
4. What does it mean to you when Dr. Kim says it takes two people giving 110% for a marriage to work?
from Seven Deadly Sins And Your Marriage by Dr. Kim Kimberling