by Eric Payne
No matter how much the debate rages on as to the authenticity, interpretation and authorship of the Bible there is no denying that it is a book packed with advice and warnings about love and relationships. Here are just a few:
It’s better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.
Proverbs 21:9 (NLT)Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.
Proverbs 21:19 (NIV)A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.
Proverbs 12:4 (NIV)The man who finds a wife finds a good find; she is a blessing to him from the Lord.
Proverbs 18:22 (NIV)A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
1 Corinthians 11:7 (NIV)But if any man does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
1 Timothy 5:8 (NASB)…husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Ephesians 5:28 (NIV)
In my humble opinion all of the commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and most other biblical directives about how to live life as a man or woman with a family can be summed up in this one rule of law: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. [Romans 13:9-10 (NIV)]
You don’t have to be a believer to know love, true acts of love will answer and cure most ills that poison and destroy relationships and marriages. And if the comments sections of most major news and gossip sites isn’t proof enough, hate accomplishes nothing except to breed destruction and division and tragic misunderstandings. Ultimately it leads to more hatred.
For those of you reading here who count yourselves as “believers,” how many acknowledge and claim to know the beauty and benefits of spreading love and are quick to tell anyone who will listen that being quick to love always trumps being quick to anger. But when put to the test, acting out of love rather than anger is often an afterthought? (Am I raising my hand by myself?)
This isn’t about passing judgment. This is about getting it right.
What Bible verses do you refer to for guidance in your continual walk down the path of love and marriage? If not the Bible, then what book(s) do you go to for advice?
Follow Eric on Facebook and Twitter. He is the author of DAD: As Easy As A, B, C! coming this Fathers Day 2011, and has written the articles Investing In An Emotional Letdown and the now infamous, My Wife Is NOT My Friend (on Facebook). He keeps it candid about being a man, dad and husband on his blog, Makes Me Wanna Holler.com.