MY MARRIAGE IS HONOURABLE
MY MARRIAGE IS HONOURABLE
A DAILY DEVOTIONAL
TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024
NIYI ODUNSI
A TIME NOT TO BE ANGRY
“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” Proverbs 15:1
The story is told of a young man who went to his father to announce that he was ready for marriage. “Say you’re sorry” was the father’s response. The young man was shocked. “Why?” he queried. “You’re not ready for marriage” his father concluded. His father was making a vital point. In marriage, you will have to tender apologies, several times, even when you are not in the wrong.
Our theme verse is most instructive. When your spouse is angry, they’re angry and that’s that. You have to understand that every human has a right to be angry and its irrelevant that you don’t think they should be angry or you can’t even understand why they’re angry. Even the Bible allows you to be angry but it cautions against going on to commit sin because you’re angry. (Eph 4:26)
The word anger is defined as “A strong feeling of displeasure and usually of antagonism”. When your spouse is antagonistic, they’re hostile and opposing you. That’s not the best time to prove a point or even try to make a superior argument. That’s the time to apologize and quickly too, even though you don’t believe you’ve done anything wrong.
If you try to argue or justify yourself, you’re likely to aggravate the situation. You see, what matters is that you’ve made them angry and unless you married a crazy person, they have valid reasons to be angry, from their perspective and you have to respect that. It’s time to say “Honey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you angry.” Don’t say something like, “I’m sorry, even though I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this irrational behaviour” That is sure to make them mad.
Your objective at this time is to calm them down and its going to take a huge chunk of humility and maturity on your part. If you’re full of pride, well, you’re in trouble. But remember, God resists the Proud and gives Grace to the humble. You don’t want to give place to the devil in your marriage. When your spouse has calmed down, they’ll be more receptive of your point of view.
PRAYER
I acknowledge that gentleness is a fruit of the human spirit and I have self control. I will at all times be slow to speak and slow to angry. I take Grace and responsibility to maintain the peace in my marriage and home at all times.
FURTHER STUDY
James 1:19-20, 1Peter 5:5, Galatians5:22,