Day 3 - Love is not Selfish

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor. —Romans 12:10

A harsh thing happens when you get married.

For the last few years before marriage, you may have been on your own. During that time, you only had to worry about feeding yourself, taking care of one car, buying clothes that you liked. The budget was more simple, too. Even if you lived with your parents until the day you got married, there was a lot about your life that was selfish. Maybe not on purpose but you were the only person you had to think of. There was no one else that needed to eat, have the oil changed, cared about your clothes. There was no one else spending money out of your budget.

And don't argue with me that your fiance was very involved in all that. In reality we all know that we only did what we wanted to to make them happy. It was never about HAVE to. Until the day you got married.

And the day you got married, a harsh thing happened. You immediately went from #1 to #2. Yep, you are no longer #1. You are now #2. She is more important than you. Her wants are more important than yours. Don't just read Ephesians 5:22. It doesn't really address this issue. But verse 25 does: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Now those are powerful words - love her like Jesus loved! Whoa!

So there is no place for selfishness in marriage. You have to give up your"self" for her like Jesus did for everyone. And you didn't get any warning. You didn't get to ease into it. You went from 1st to 2nd in a breath. The one you used to say, "I do."

And when you have kids you go to #3, then #4, #5... Grandkids?

So when do you get to be #1 again? When you are all alone like you were before marriage. No wife, no kids, no grandkids. For your sake, I hope you never end up there again!

TODAY’S DARE

Whatever you put your time, energy, and money into will become more important to you. It’s hard to care for something you are not investing in. Along with restraining from negative comments, buy your spouse something that says, “I was thinking of you today.” But guys, even if she likes to go out on dates, buying her wrestle-mania tickets doesn't say, "I was thinking of you." Unless you have one weird wife.