“Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Cor. 2:11).
There are three areas to pay particular attention to if you are thinking about marrying. These are the three most common pitfalls for marital break-up. If you know what they are in advance, you can avoid them and live a successful happy life in your marriage union before God.
One of the first things that cause marital break up is lack of communication. So single people have to learn how to be able to communicate with the other sex. The only way you are going to learn how to communicate with others is that you have to be honest with yourself.
The ability to communicate successfully—where both parties hear, both understand the message conveyed, and both receive from each other is fundamentally key. You must communicate. You must be willing to talk and to listen, because communication is not just talking.
The second reason why you have marital break up is lack of commitment. If you are going to get married to someone you have to be able to commit everything you have to them. You have to be willing to commit all your time, all your money, and all your energy.
You must be willing to commit your body. You must be willing to commit all the things you want to that spouse and place what is important to him or her ahead of what is important to you.
The third reason for marital break up is selfishness. It’s about “What I want.” You give me what I want and maybe I’ll give you what you want. A lot of times people have difficulty going from being single to married on this issue right here.
They’re not ready to lose everything. Selflessness keeps a marriage together. It is about what your spouse wants. Give them what they want, and God sees to it that you get what you want. Give and it shall be given unto you. Marriage is about giving.
If you know Satan’s strategies ahead of time, then you’ll know how to defeat it when it arises. Since you have knowledge, you can use the word of God and be victorious over these issues. My wife and I have been married for over 25 years. We are happily married, because we have put the word of God to work in our lives. Life is good when you put God first.
Study References: 2 Corinthians 2:10-11; Luke 6:38
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Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).