Marriage Is A Business...Lets Just Be Real

Luke 2:49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

Ephesians 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

Jesus understood His kingdom responsibilities.  He had to be about His Father’s kingdom business.  Marriage is a business.  Marriage is kingdom business.  It is business because it represents the relationship between Christ and His church.

If I believed that people understood love and the fact that love is respect and responsibility, I could embrace the “love conquers all” theme in marriage.  After having surveyed the landscape of hundreds of marriages, I have concluded that few people, even in Christianity understand true love. What many people are calling love is nothing more than physical attraction. To a large extent true love has been lost in marriages.

Physical attraction is great, but it won't pay the rent!

Please don't tell your spouse how much you love them, yet you won't work. Don't talk about how much you love someone while they are sitting in the dark, with no heat, no food, house is filthy, dishes are stacked up and you have to hide the car from the bank every night.

Please don't complement someone else's spouse about how good they look and then criticize your own spouse about their looks. Many marriages have split as a result of the aforementioned.

Therefore, I have momentarily put aside the romantic notion that “so called” love conquers all in many marriage.

I have come to conclude that love (respect and responsibility) is the foundation of marriage, but I have also concluded that marriage is a business.  It is the Lord’s business!  Marriage was and is God’s idea!

The husband and wife are partners in the business of marriage.

Therefore, I have some suggestions before you stand at the altar and say “I DO.“

If you are a Christian, find out if the person is truly a born-again believer in Jesus Christ.  Carrying a bible, showing up at a Church service, and speaking in tongues does not constitute being a Christian. Christians are people with Godly character and Christ like integrity.  Much of what we label Christianity today is not in the bible.

Research the person's family history to know how the individual has been influenced.  Is there a family history of alcohol, drugs abuse or violence? Do they have an education?  Their level of education will determine their place of employment and their salary scale.  Have they been consistently employed?  Anyone who marries a person who won't work is asking for a life filled with anger, bitterness, stress, frustration and lack.

I have heard people say, we will cross that bridge when we get to it!  Listen to me carefully, if you are in a relationship with someone who is unemployed and refuses to work, dump them!  Don't cross the marriage bridge with them. Get out of the relationship.  Burned that bridge!  Never be tempted to cross it!    

Ask lots of questions!

Look at their GPS or road map to see what stops have been made along the way. Have they been married before? If so, how many times and what happened?  I have known of many but I know of one professing believer who has been married three times and is on the verge of another divorce.

According to him, everything was his wife fault!

Find out how many children they have and by how many different partners. You will have to deal with each child, each previous partner, their attitude and possible child support.

Did they ever own a home? Did they ever own a business? Did it fail? Why did it fail? Do they have a driver license or own a car? Find out if they have a bank account. Do they have a checking or a saving account?  Do they know how to balance a check book?

Do they have bills and how many? What is on their credit report?

Find out the person successes and failures. Know what you are getting into. You may not want to get into marriage after finding out what you will have to overcome for the relationship to last. God has never brought two people together for them to struggle and fight all of their married lives.

Husbands & wives are heirs of life together and are partners in the business of marriage, so be sure you marry someone who is intelligent, flexible and business like. Never take an interest in anyone who is content to just keep circling the same mountain. Successful partnerships require a plan and regular progress reports. The reason many marriages fail or struggle for years is because of poor planning or no planning. There must be regularly scheduled progress reports. Those progress reports should include income and expenses.

Those progress reports should also include checking and saving accounts and their balances. Be sure to have your calculator on hand and demand the balances to be correct. Yes, demand! Why work for waste!

Even in Christianity, a new breed of individuals today are interested in   someone who is attractive, but educated, intelligent, and success minded.

This new breed now asking if you have a degree and what your goals are in life. This new breed demands the good life.  They have found out that it is fashionable to have a nice home with a two car garage.  

They want a family car and a 4x4 SUV. They are looking for someone who share the same values.  Today's new breed is demanding integrity, intelligence, a resume and a credit report.  Many look for a degree and has a calculator in hand before relationship or marriage.  

They want something that will last!  Treat marriage like it is a business!