READ: 1 Corinthians 7:25-39
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” – John 16:13
Many of us behave like African herbalists when it comes to marriage. An African herbalist usually has a single potion that is supposed to cure every ailment: it can cure bad eyesight, piles, toothache, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, rashes, asthma, waist pains, erectile dysfunction, constipation, etc. It is only the ignorant who are taken in by claims that one drug can cure all these things.
Yet, when it comes to marriage, most people have one potion that they apply to all marriages with the assumption that every marriage is the same. This is a serious mistake.
In some cases, you have a “devoted husband” who does absolutely everything a husband should do. And sometimes the devoted husband has an equally good wife who does everything a “devoted” wife could ever do. On the other hand, a devoted husband could have the worst kind of female as his wife. A “devoted” wife could have an evil husband who does not even deserve to have a wife.
Many situations have to be understood on a case-by-case basis. It is wrong to crucify both the good and the bad together on the same day. (Jesus Christ was crucified with thieves and it gave the impression that Jesus Christ was a common thief, simply because He was given the same treatment as a common criminal).
Every marriage gives rise to different experiences. Some people just have to follow the “Seven steps to a good marriage” and they will experience great happiness. Others can follow “Seventy steps to a good marriage”, but will never have happiness. Be careful if you are in one of the good marriage situations because you may be tempted to criticize marriages you do not understand!