We recently made a major purchase and it was really encouraging when the salesman told us, "you have excellent credit." He was basically saying that over the years we had managed our fiances well. We paid our bills on time and had a consistent reputation of reliability when it came to managing our finances.
I wish I could take the credit but anyone who knows me knows it is my wife who keeps our financial reputation solid. She has been good at making sure we don't live beyond our means and yet keep up with our promises.
What's that got to do with marriage?
What if there were people like financial examiners who could analyze the credibility of our marriage? What would be the criteria for determining if we had a good "credit score" when it came to our relationship? Many of us work hard to be consistent when it comes to managing our finances but how does that apply to the efforts (or lack thereof) when it comes to working on this relationship that God has given us?
In many ways it's easier to manage our finances than our marriages. Money doesn't talk back! To build credibility within our relationship you have to take personal time to listen, learn and forgive. The more we invest the greater the return. If I know my husband or wife doesn't want to just take the relationship for granted but to always be building and growing it makes me want to give more.
"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." I Corinthians 13:7
Just as we would never advise someone to wait until a financial crisis to begin managing their money we who profess Christ should not wait until we have trouble in our marriages. We should be working every day to keep short accounts and to build credibility into our marriages. The more credibility we have the more endurance.
Wouldn't it be exciting to hear someone say about our marriage as well as our finances, "You have excellent credit rating!"
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