Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; Proverbs 24:3 (NKJV)
Marriage can be likened to a building and one highly important material for this building is “wisdom.”
Wisdom, which is an “all-important” concept in marriage, can be said to be the correct application of knowledge. Wisdom with spouse and in-laws brings understanding, favour, and many other benefits.
What type of wisdom do we need for marriage?
Prayer is the wisdom of God, which is the wisdom Christians should always use to navigate every sphere of marriage. Prayer does not only foster togetherness amongst spouses but also opens other positive doors.
Different Types of Influence
- Direct: This cuts across Influence from parents, guardians, relatives, and siblings amongst others.
- Indirect: This thrives on influence from social media, magazines, newspapers, and the society.
- Positive: This encompasses godly people, contented people, encouragers, and people of integrity.
- Negative: This comes from jealous people, greedy people, unhealthy addicts, gossip, and so on.
How Can We Respond To Those Influences?
Many homes have been destroyed by virtue of negative influence. Friends wrongly advise each other, colleagues, neighbours, even family members. It’s really disheartening. As Christians, it is the will of God that we don’t allow negative influences to mar our marriage
The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands. Proverbs 14:1 (NKJV)
Wisdom, if well applied, brings seamless success. The best way to get your spouse to understand something or perhaps do something for you is not by raising dust about it, it’s simply by the application of wisdom.
Remember Queen Esther? When she wanted a favour from the king, first she took it to the Lord in prayer, fasted with her people, and then went on to set up a banquet. The king vowed to give her anything she wanted, up to half of his kingdom. Indeed, wisdom achieves profound results.
God, who instituted marriage desires that we should have knowledge on how to enjoy it, hence, for a sweet, strong, and sustainable marriage, you need to embrace the right information (the truth of the word). The choice is yours, either to run your home based on the wisdom of God or the influence of society.
Sermon excerpt from the University of Marriage Retreat – Saturday 10 July 2023
Watch this Sermon here.
