Marriage Moments - "In all that you do, do all for the glory of God."

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"In all that you do, do all for the glory of God."

May 9

Written by: Steve Austin
5/9/2011 6:20 AM

"In all that you do, do all for the glory of God." Does that statement apply only to areas of ministry or, even, our careers, or is it applicable to our marriage relationship, as well? Is it just a clever twist on words or is it a daily way of life?

In my first article, I wrote about the importance of keeping our marriage healthy, thus glorifying God. Consider, then, the above question of comparison. If we glorify God in the areas of ministry, for example, we are doing it willingly and giving our best efforts while allowing God to guide our footsteps. We do it for God's glory and we are blessed in so doing; others receive from our efforts and are also blessed. Thus, God is glorified. The same principle applies to our career. Whether we are an employer or an employee, both our work ethic and our interpersonal relationships glorify God when we give our best. If in all we do we are first of all Christian, once again, God is glorified. Glorifying God should be the measuring stick by which we determine success. In both of these examples, our ministry and our career would be considered strong and healthy, something for which we could be thankful and others would be inspired to emulate.

Does it, then, stand to reason that we need to live our marriage in the same manner? If we approach our ministry opportunities and our career with the intent of being successful so as to glorify God, then do the same in marriage. I dare say if we are successful in marriage, it will enhance success in every other area of life. However, most importantly, as we commit to success in marriage and enjoy the daily, and the life long benefits, we become a positive example for our children, our grandchildren and for society in general in a time when commitment seems to be old-fashioned and outdated.

Therefore, the prescriptive word for this writing is COMMITMENT. We do it to become successful in career and, many of us, commit to ministry areas. Likewise, our healthy and happy marriage can shine as an example for God's glory, as we keep the commitment of our wedding vows alive. Continue making love a verb, acting out those vows on a daily basis. Love, honor and cherish spell out commitment in our actions. Commitment calls for a continuous moving forward with healthy growth in our relationship. If we stop advancing, our relationship becomes stagnant, mundane and perfunctory, and thus, the tendency is to take each other for granted. However, on the other hand, commitment causes us to consider the feelings, needs and desires of our spouse in all areas of life, all the time. This is a life-long commitment. As the old wedding song says, "Not for just an hour, not for just a day, not for just a year, but ALWAYS." For example, on a personal note, as of this writing, I enjoy saying to my forever sweetheart, "Today, we have been married 43 years, 9 months and four days." To some, that might sound rather "corny" after all these years but, for me, it says that I am still in love with the girl of my dreams and my commitment to our marriage is alive and well, thus, healthy. We each need to remember the "I do's" of our vows and guard against the tempting "I dont's" when things get difficult. Different than our career and areas of ministry, we don't retire from marriage. Commitment to keep love a verb sustains a healthy marriage.

Finally, remember that commitment in marriage is not a 50-50 proposition; rather, it is a 100-100 percent effort. Dare we give less than 100% to keep this God ordained relationship healthy? Although, while we should expect 100% effort from ourself and our spouse, be careful not to expect complete perfection from either. I plan to discuss this further, in more detail, in the next writing. Blessings on your marriage.

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2 comment(s) so far...

Re: "In all that you do, do all for the glory of God."

Very good Steve, love you Brother.

By Penny Austin on 6/14/2011 1:21 PM

Re: "In all that you do, do all for the glory of God."

Again, very timely and to the point. I am anxious to hear the "further discussion". Sometimes I need reminding of the 100/100 percent. Sometimes it seems it is just an average....I am giving 90% while he is giving 110%. I do love my man!

By Jan Carden on 7/18/2011 10:02 AM

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Re: Roller Coaster of Life.

Pastor
Roller Coaster man that is one ride we all seem to get on but when we are on that ride we learn to deal with lifes ups and downs with Faith Hebrews 11:1 I think about if i had no faith what would that ride be like. Bless the men,woman and children of GOD

By Gwendolyn Duncan-Atlas on: Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Re: "Disipline and Children"

Some important points to emphasize;

1.) Keep it age appropriate. Don't try to debate with a two-year-old, and don't assume that a twelve-year-old understands what is going on. If a child wants to discuss what happened, then by all means, do so. You may be amazed at what you learn.

2.) Weigh the situation. A lot of parents discipline for a given situation because that is what their parents did. Is the situation actually in need of addressing, or are you just annoyed, stressed, frustrated, etc. If you can't put into words what they did wrong, and why it is wrong, then reconsider.

3.) Don't put off discipline for an extended time, unless that is somehow part of the discipline. If it takes too long to happen, the reason for discipline is lost, and so is the child's focus on action-vs-consequence. If you need to cool off, tell the child "I need to take a little time to cool off. I don't want to discipline you while I am still so upset about the situation. But we WILL address this. Please go to your room until I call for you."

4.) Make sure the child UNDERSTANDS what is happening. i.e.- the child needs to understand that they are not being disciplined because they made you angry, but because they should not have _ _ _ _ , because _ _ _ _ . This is especially important where a spanking is used. Keep explanations short and to the point. Ask if they have questions. Ask them to explain it back, to be sure that they got the gist of the point.

5.) Always discipline with love for the child. Follow a spanking with a hug, and "I love you". Let them know that it hurts you to have to discipline them, but that you love them enough to help them learn right from wrong, and about consequences. There is no age limit for this.

6.) (Most) Kids aren't dumb. Unfortunately, there are a very few that just won't "get it". It is HIGHLY unlikely that yours is one of them. Most kids can and will surprise you with their logic and memories. If you are not consistent, if you aren't living the example of what you are asking of them, if you discipline in anger instead of love, they will pick up on it and use it against you.
If you fear that your child is one of those few that can't "get it", get professional help for yourself and your child as soon as possible. It will benefit you, your child, and those that your child will associate with throughout their lives.

7.) Don't assume that you have time before you really have to get serious about your relationship with your child... you don't. From start-to-finish, your child is watching you to see who you are, and whether you are a worthy role model. None of us are wholly worthy, but effort counts a HUGE amount.

8.) Unless you somehow direct a child to misbehave, you are not at fault for their choices. Everyone, quite a few times throughout their lives, makes poor choices. As a parent, it is your responsibility to provide guidance and advice. As an individual, a child is going to make choices that are going to make you want to press the "reset" button on their lives. Hopefully, they will learn from their poor choices. Keep loving them. Pray for them. Be available to them. Do NOT enable them to escape the consequences of their poor choices.

9.) The past has passed. Learn from it. Guard against making the same mistakes over and over. Work for present and future success, but leave the past in the past. Bringing up past mistakes and failures is much more likely to cause resentment, than it is to encourage actual change in a person.

10.) Communicate, communicate, COMMUNICATE! Never assume anyone "just knows". Never assume that you know. Ask your child how they are. Ask them about their day. Talk to their teachers and friends. If they believe that you don't care, they are very likely to not care about a lot of things as well. Your child needs to know that you are interested in their lives because you love them.

By Mark Mayhue on: Monday, October 31, 2011

Re: "In all that you do, do all for the glory of God."

Again, very timely and to the point. I am anxious to hear the "further discussion". Sometimes I need reminding of the 100/100 percent. Sometimes it seems it is just an average....I am giving 90% while he is giving 110%. I do love my man!

By Jan Carden on: Monday, July 18, 2011