With March 18th being our anniversary, love has all the more been on our minds. One thing that has helped us grow our marriage to be a wonderful one is having a sense of humor. We’re learning not to take everything so seriously. So, we thought we’d look at love (before marriage) from a humorous side. And then we’ll share how loving your spouse God’s way leads to a great marriage.
A while back we received the following from the Cybersalt ministry. (You can sign up for their free emails at cybersalt.org.) It brings out a humorous twist on what it is to love. First we’ll share what they emailed to us and then we’ll share God’s take on what it is to love your spouse. You’ll find in the Cybersalt versions that they say “she” and “her” a lot. Don’t let that stop you from putting in a “he” or a “him” if you think that works better :) Here is a poem you often see quoted:
ORIGINAL VERSION of IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE
If you love something,
Set it free…
If it comes back, it’s yours;
If it doesn’t, it never was yours.THE PESSIMIST VERSION:
If you love somebody,
Set her free …
If she ever comes back, she’s yours;
If she doesn’t, well, as expected, she never was.THE OPTIMIST VERSION:
If you love somebody,
Set her free …
Don’t worry, she will come back.THE SUSPICIOUS VERSION:
If you love somebody,
Set her free …
If she comes back, ask her why.THE IMPATIENT VERSION:
If you love somebody,
Set her free …
If she doesn’t comes back within some time limit,
forget her.THE PATIENT VERSION:
If you love somebody,
Set her free …
If she doesn’t come back, continue to wait
until she comes back …THE PLAYFUL VERSION:
If you love somebody,
Set her free …
If she comes back, and if you love her still,
set her free again. RepeatTHE LAWYER’S VERSION:
If you love somebody,
Set her free…
Clause 1a of Paragraph 13a-1 in the second
amendment of the Matrimonial Freedom Act clearly states that…THE BILL GATES VERSION
[he’s the computer guy]:
If you love somebody,
Set her free…
If she comes back,
I think we can charge her for re-installation fees
and tell her that she’s also going to get an upgrade.THE STATISTICIAN’S VERSION:
If you love somebody,
Set her free…
If she loves you, the probability of her coming back is high.
If she doesn’t, your relationship was improbable anyway.THE POSSESSIVE VERSION:
If you love somebody
don’t ever set her free.THE PSYCHOLOGIST’S VERSION:
If you love somebody
set her free…
If she comes back, her super ego is dominant.
And if she doesn’t come, back her id is supreme.
If she doesn’t go, she must be crazy.THE FINANCE EXPERT VERSION:
If you love somebody
set her free…
If she comes back, it’s time to look for fresh loans.
If she doesn’t, write her off as an asset gone bad.THE MARKETING VERSION:
If you love somebody
set her free…
If she comes back, she has brand loyalty.
If she doesn’t, reposition the brand in new markets.
To love your spouse remember that God told us:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7)
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister [or spouse] in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:16-18)
As we can see, love, according to God, is more of a verb than a noun. To love is to do for —to serve more than to be served.
Additional Scriptures
To read many more scriptures (in one place) on loving your spouse God’s way please go to:
• SCRIPTURES TO BRING YOU CLOSER IN YOUR MARRIAGE
• SCRIPTURES AND QUOTES TO HELP YOU IN YOUR MARRIAGE
• SCRIPTURE VERSES ON COMMUNICATION
Also, if you put the word SCRIPTURES and/or BIBLE VERSES into our search engine you’ll find additional articles that give you scriptures on a variety of topics pertaining to marriage. We pray they help you as they have helped us.
44 years and counting… what a great number of years to be married. In the beginning part of our marriage we never would have thought it would grow to be this terrific (because it started out so rocky). But with God’s help, it has. We hope and pray this for you —that whatever is going on in your marriage, you will get through it as you lean into the Lord, and you will continue to grow your marriage to a point where it is more wonderful than you ever could have imagined.
Please know that our prayers will be with you that this will be so.
Cindy and Steve Wright
Filed under: Marriage Insights
I celebrate with you Cindy and Steve Wright. Your home and this labor (marriagemissions.com) that God has placed in your hands to bless so many, including me. Happy wedding anniversary and I pray that your love will grow stronger because of Jesus alive in you. God bless and keep you and family faithfully. Much love!!!
Thank you Tee. God has blessed in so many ways. We just had a weekend of wonderful celebration. It was quiet, but meaningful, looking back, talking about the present, and planning for the future should God extend our days. We feel privileged to participate with God in this wonderful ministry. You have blessed us with your kind words and prayers. Thank you.
Thank you for weekly marriage inserts. I am learning much to also become a better wife. I serve and wait on God to save my Husband. Before my salvation he saw to our 4 kids while I went about having good times. I give God glory for Godfrey. There is lot of change in him since I changed my attitude. I give God glory for all the help from your daily message. I look forward to read and learn new things daily God Bless this ministry even more.
Thank you Gertrude for your kind words of encouragement. I pray the Lord helps you and guides you in this journey to draw closer to the Him. To help you further, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but in the Spiritual Matters topic –here’s a link to the index: https://marriagemissions.com/category/spiritual-matters/ where there are several articles with links to additional articles and web sites, which focus on living with an unbelieving spouse. I hope you will read and glean through, applying the info you can use. They may help you to feel less alone in this mission (as you read about the journey others are taking, which are similar in some ways to yours) and also give you insights and encourage you in the ways you need it. I hope so, and pray for you that God leads you and shows you all the move love as you look to Him.