Thought For The Week

As I was driving home the other day, a song came on the radio that I haven’t heard in a long time. It’s sung by the country singer Don Williams and its entitled "You’re My Best Friend". It’s a simple little song with very simple music and lyrics, you know, the kind that you’d pick and sing while sitting on the front porch on a cool summer evening. It’s a simple love song, a song from a man to his wife. Here’s the chorus:

You’re my bread when I’m hungry
You’re shelter from troubled winds
You’re my anchor in life’s ocean
But most of all
You’re my best friend

It sounds almost biblical doesn’t it? The fact is that our spouse should indeed be our best friend, the one that we can confide in, the one that we can share our troubles with, the one that we desire to spend our time with. Is your wife or your husband your best friend?

God set up the marriage union long ago, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." Genesis 2:24. The marriage relationship is a honorable one (Hebrews 13:4) and isn’t to be taken for granted. Our husbands and wives are meant to be a blessing to us, not a burden.

Men, do you treat your wife as good as you treat your best hunting or fishing buddy? Would you rather hang out with the fellas than spend time with her? You know, as Valentine’s Day comes around men everywhere will be lined up at the check out stands the night before holding flowers, candy, cute little stuffed animals and who knows what else. Are these men really attempting to show love and affection or are they just trying to avoid a "chewin’ out" because they didn’t remember the holiday? (I think it’s the later most of the time).

Ladies, do you look forward to the evenings so you can spend time with your husband? Do you treat him as well as you do your friends? Or do you complain about how messy he is or are you bitter toward him because he forgot that it was Valentine’s Day? The truth is that we all have things that we can do to improve on our marriage relationship.

God’s Word has much to say about the way husbands and wives are to get along. First of all we should be affectionate to each other. Paul wrote quite extensively in 1 Corinthians 7 about marriage and he stressed how important it is to show affection toward each other. I must admit that I’m not the most romantic guy around, but through this teaching I can see just how important it is to physically show how much we love our spouses. Hey, just holding hands every once in a while can go a long way!

Not only should we show our love for each other in a physical way but we should be kind, considerate, respectful, while making sure that each others needs are met (1 Peter 3:1-7). Husbands and wives should treat each other just as they would like to be treated (Ephesians 5:22-33). Do you wish that your husband would just pay more attention to you? Then give him your undivided attention. Men, do you wish your wife was more understanding and tolerate toward your hobbies? Then show her support and participate in her hobbies too. That’s the way "real" friends treat each other. Strong marriages make for a strong church. A good relationship at home will spill over into good relationships within God’s family thus making it pleasing to Him.

Jay Launius 2020, Maud church of Christ, Maud, Texas