Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Service With A Smile

Why would you think as soon as you find the person you are to marry that your services are no longer needed. If you served in order for her/him to be noticed to date, why do you think it changes? This is more true of men then it is of women. Women know, seeing we are married we are to submit to our husbands and he is looking for her to be obedient to him. But what about his service? Is he not to love his wife as Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25 AMP)? What does he think that means? Jesus served. He washed the feet of the disciples. He humbled himself (John 13:5-10 AMP). When a man speaks of his wife being submitted to him, does that sound humble? When reminding of his wife about submission, does that sound like what Jesus did with the church? Jesus said that He came not to condemn man but for him to have life and have it more abundantly (John 3:17 AMP). Does he have that same characteristic when he interacts with her? If he doesn't have it while dating, he won't be this way during the marriage.

I recall a young man telling me that his mother taught him not to be embarrassed when he had to go to the store to purchase his wife's feminine products. He also claimed that his mother taught him how to cook as well, just in case she would need for him to do so if nothing else for himself. He was pleased that he had all of these skills and knew it was a selling point to tell the woman of his desires for her to marry him. He did find a woman that appealed to him, yet when she asked him to do all of those things his mother had taught him to do, it was like pulling teeth from a brick. He found every excuse not to do it and called her lazy for asking him. It got to the point where he thought killing a bug was too much for him to do for her. His reasoning was, what if he weren't there and the children needed her protection? He said she needed the practice in killing bugs and spiders herself. Is it a wonder why she didn't feel affectionate towards him in a few years after they married? If she continued her service with a smile despite his services towards her, would there be consequences in his life? Is God in agreement with this man and his reasoning (Matthew 5:44 AMP)?

A young woman, not knowing until brought to her attention, looked at her husband in disdain because he found it difficult to keep a job. She could not respect a man that had her as a wife and family to support yet did not do whatever he could to stay employed. It became increasingly difficult for her to talk to him without bickering. She knew what her obligation to do as a Christian was, but for some reason, it was too much for her to be kind and loving to the man she promised herself to. Was it her fault? Because he cannot keep a job and is the head of her, could she lose her Christian principles? Did she have a right to be disrespectful towards him (1 Peter 3:2 AMP)?

A woman at her desk was called into her supervisor's office. The supervisor tells her that the work schedule is wrong and has made some changes that is more comparable to the order of things in the work place. The woman looks at the schedule and sees that all of her days that she has had for the last 3 years have been changed. Her supervisor tells her that this is the schedule that they agreed to months ago. The woman disagreed and told her supervisor it was a mistake. She continued that she never agreed to those changes. The supervisor claimed that the meeting with all of the employees at the beginning of the year never said anything including her. So it was the schedule agreed to and there is nothing she could do about it. The woman realizing she was fighting a losing battle gets up to leave. Just then she remembered that she had an email and it confirms what she had been saying, She sends the email to her supervisor. The supervisor sends a response, there will be no changes to the schedule. Is this a fight that needs to be taken to Human Resources? Would it be worth it knowing this woman would have to go back and work with this same supervisor? Can she come back the next day smiling ready to work knowing that her supervisor is less then honorable? Would God be pleased if she did or would He be more pleased if she quit (Ephesians 6:5-10 AMP)?

These are some of the things we go through as Christians and for some, these things are minute and elementary to deal with. For others, it is the reason your peace is troubled. It reminds me when I was a child. I have an older brother who used to tease me incessantly. He would be thrilled the more I shrieked for him to leave me alone. Sometimes we would wrestle and other times it would be physically fighting. I would be hitting him as hard as I could and he would just laugh. The thing is, we never crossed the line to pick up a weapon to hurt one another. There would have been serious and more than likely fatal damage if we had. My point is, when or why would anyone go beyond the boundaries that have been given to us (Galatians 5:16-25 AMP)?

We know who we are in Christ. We know what is expected of us. We know that if we don't pass these tests, the test will continue to come back until we do. When dating, people have silly ideas they need to do in order to see what is your tolerance level. Yes, this is a tt to. If anyone decides to do such mind games, walk away. He /she will continue to do so and it is a seed sown that you will have to suffer if you continue with the relationship anyway.

I originally wrote this entry for the Christian Singles blog. In it, it answers a Christian's need to find their own spouse or why he/she must be patient in waiting for God. This does answer that question to some degree. It also answers to the Christian single why he/she isn't comfortable with their choice. People have reasons for doing and living in the matter they choose. Some like their mess. That doesn't mean you have to wallow in it too. If they can find a reason to retaliate when Jesus says that the revenge belongs to Him, who are you to do otherwise? You have more reason to smile knowing that you have an ally that has your back (Hebrews 3:5 AMP).

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