In the old, traditional marriage vows there is a line: “love, honor, and obey.” The word “obey” gets all the attention, but the word “honor” is more important. A healthy marriage is where the spouses honor one another.
One way we honor our spouses is to allow for their weaknesses. Everyone has weaknesses. People get ill. They lose jobs. They have jobs but don’t make enough to pay the rent. They have emotional scars from the past. No one knows a person’s weakness better than their spouse. What should they do about it? Exploit it? Show contempt because they are weak? No, one protects one’s spouse. One makes an allowance for their weakness.
Another way we honor our spouses is to treat them like royalty. That is the way we used to think about them. With the passage of time and the work of building a home and a family, perhaps we stop looking at them that way. What we should see is royalty, because that is what they are to us. Honor them as royalty.
In our sermon this Sunday we will look at how to have a healthy relationship with our spouse.