God’s Glory In Marriage, Part 3of3, Evans Olang

Ephesians 5:15-17, “15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is”. (NIV)

We covered “walking in Love” and “walking in the light”, today, I address “Walking in wisdom”.

I tend to find it hard to distinguish between “knowledge” and “wisdom”. I find that you can have “knowledge” but little or no “wisdom”, let me qualify my statement. You can have book knowledge and have no wisdom to apply that knowledge. Moreover, if we are going to have a glorious marriage, then we need more than just knowledge, we need wisdom to apply the knowledge.

What is wisdom?, Good sense shown in a way of thinking, or action. The ability to make sensible decisions and judgments based on personal knowledge and experience. Wisdom discerns and directs on application. People mess things up when they are unable to discern (examine, evaluate, understand and approach with wisdom), in Proverbs 9:10, we are told, “The fearof the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”. I am amazed at some believers that have zeal but little or no wisdom. They wreck good things because they do not know how to handle it. We are told, the fear of the Lord is the “beginning”, it is just a start to gain wisdom, and as we walk and are led of Him, we gain more wisdom that is helpful to us in life.

It is by wisdom as one of the ingredients that a marriage grows. By it we each learn our roles, our position in our God given marriage. How we treat each other, manage family affairs, finances, assets, balancing ministry and marriage among other things depend on how we apply wisdom. “Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established”, Proverbs 24:3.

Paul says, “be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise”, lack of wisdom has wrecked a number of marriages. I have heard of cases where husbands confessed how they wrecked their marriages foolishly. They had good intentions and knowledge and wanted to do good things but lacked wisdom to pull it through. We have to be very careful how we live and how we treat those we live with. I constantly pray for wisdom because I need it in my marriage.

You can say the right thing, without wisdom it may come out wrong in your tone of voice or presentation. You need to ask yourself, what you want to say, will it come out as disrespectful, demeaning or unloving? We need wisdom in communicating. Are you applying wisdom in how you spend what God gives you? Are you applying wisdom in balancing your work and marriage? You could be working hard to provide excellent living for your family and nothing wrong with that, the question is, are you out of balance, neglecting your time with your spouse? Have you fallen on this trap many believers do; too busy serving the Lord, sacrificing your marriage for the sake of your ministry? Be wise, your marriage is your number one ministry. If you are involved in ministry right now and your marriage is suffering, apply wisdom, put the ministry on hold, go and work on your marriage first. Christ did not call you to die for the church, He already did. He called you to die for your spouse.

By wisdom, you will know who your enemy is, your spouse is not your enemy. By wisdom you will defend your spouse and not put him or her down. By wisdom you will know who to hang out with knowing there are threats out there after your marriage. I call them parasites (that drain you and your marriage), the parasites could be friends or family members, you need wisdom to create boundaries. By wisdom you will not allow those little foxes to devour what is good. By wisdom as Paul says in vs. 16, you will not waste precious time destroying, instead you will build, “… making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil that is the wise thing to do.” Are you walking in wisdom? Are you wrecking your marriage right now because you lack wisdom? Seek God, read his word, obey the truth and practice what you read, James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him”.

God is most glorified in our marriages when we are most satisfied in Him and with the spouse He has given us, “…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure”, Philippians 2:13, growing and conforming us into His image for His glory. May God’s glory be displayed in each our of marriages, may He make His name great in this hard, delicate and complicated relationship that only He can bring unity in diversity. Let us Walk in love, walk in the light, walk in wisdom. Blessings Ev