Newlywed Nonsense
“Where is the respect due me?”
Malachi 1:6
Some years ago as I (JCD) was flipping through the TV channels, I paused momentarily to watch a “newlywed” show. It was a bad decision. The host posed a series of dumb questions to a lineup of brides whose husbands were “sequestered backstage in a soundproof room.”
The host challenged the women to predict their husband’s responses to inquiries that went something like this: “Using the TV terms ‘first run,’ ‘rerun,’ or ‘cancelled,’ how would you describe the first time you and your husband made ‘whoopee’?” Without the least hesitation, the women blurted out frank answers to this and other intimate questions. A few minutes later the men were given the same opportunity to humiliate their wives. Of course, they grabbed it.
It has been said that television programming reflects the values of the society it serves. Heaven help us if that is true. In this instance, the newlyweds revealed their immaturity, selfishness, hostility, vulnerability, and sense of inadequacy. Rather than treat their sexual relationships— and each other—with the privacy and respect they deserved, these young marrieds aired every intimate detail to a national television audience without a second thought.
Intimacy will never be achieved in the bedroom, or in any part of the marriage, when the relationship is handled in so cavalier a manner. Some facts about your life together are best kept between you and your mate.
Just between us . . .
• Do you feel I respect our sexual relationship?
• Do I ever reveal details about our sex life you wish I didn’t?
• How can the behavior described above damage a relationship?
Lord, thank You for the intimacy that we share. May we be quick to recognize and reject popular values that offend You and our marriage commitment. Amen.
Listen to today's broadcast of Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk at OnePlace.com. For more from Dr. Dobson, visit the resource center at drjamesdobson.org.
This devotional is taken from Night Light for Couples. Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
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Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find? (Prov. 20:6). This gentleman who so gently cared for his wife clearly understood the meaning of commitment.
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What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14). Time is an embezzler, juggling the books at night when no one is looking. So remember to use each day for the Lord as though it could be your last.
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Faith is being sure of what we hope for (Heb. 11:1). Hope based on the realistic expectation that something can or will change is a powerful, positive, driving force.
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If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! (1 Cor. 10:12). Build a record of choices and deeds that proves to your partner you can be trusted at all times.
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And a husband must not divorce his wife (1 Cor. 7:11). The distress young children experience after a divorce remains with them throughout their lives.
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When faced with the breakup of her parents’ marriage, a hurting teenager used the following word picture in this letter to her father.
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If you’re raising kids right now, you know it’s hard work. Even children who are sweet and compliant come with their own set of challenges. But if your son or daughter is strong-willed and defiant, that child can wear you out emotionally. If you have one or more of these independent youngsters, you know how difficult life can be. Here's the good news: Help is on the way. The Dr. James Dobson Family Institute has developed this new 10-day email series based on Dr. Dobson’s best-selling book, The New Strong-Willed Child. It’s designed to equip you to wisely lead your kids through even the toughest trials.
