If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

— Romans 12:18

We see many conflicts taking place in marriages today. Some households are like mini-battlefields.

It takes two to tangle, as well as to tango though, so we can forget about blaming our spouse. That never does anything but change things for the worse. I think of the innocent young thing who came into the pastor’s office. She was weeping and telling of how miserable and horrible and mean her husband was. Then she said, wiping a tear from her eye, “And he wasn’t that way when I married him.”

The pastor said, “Oh, then you changed him for the worse.”

Do you know what unhappy couples try to do? They want to change their spouse, so they spend their whole lives alternating between various methods of doing so. They try yelling, and it doesn’t work, so then they try silence, and that doesn’t work. So, then they try pouting, and that doesn’t work. Then they try threats, and that doesn’t work. So they conclude therefore, “It’s impossible. Nothing works.”

But God wants us to forgive and to patiently learn love. He wants us to work through these conflicts. Marriage was His idea, and it is ultimately a picture of the relationship between Christ and His bride, the Church.

Question to ponder:
If you are having problems getting along with someone (perhaps even your spouse), what can you do to make things better?