Quotes about Relationships

As it pertains to you and me, let's admit we can't reach everyone, so let's invest our time in the reliable people we can reach. Find out who is toxic to you, consider walking away, and entrust them to God.

Marriage creates a situation in which our desire to be served and coddled can be replaced with a nobler desire to serve others — even to sacrifice for others.

Some use the label toxic much too broadly as an excuse to avoid difficult, different, or hurting people.

Occasional acts of dramatic service like this can go such a long way — not only in cementing intimacy as a couple, but in reminding the spouse who does the giving that to know Christ is to know service; to become like Christ is to become like a servant; to follow Christ is to follow the way of service.

Even so, whenever the biblical model is superseded and a woman or man becomes a mom or dad first instead of a wife or husband first, the marriage suffers—very often irretrievably.

But ask God to help you. Partner with him to build up and encourage the person with whom you've chosen to spend the rest of your life. Ask. "How can I love my spouse today like he [or she] has never been or ever will be loved?" When we focus on what we can do, it's amazing how little time we have left to become consumed by our disappointments.

I think we need the same attitude with our marriage. All of us experience certain things about our spouses that may be difficult for us to accept.

Would that it were the reverse, with girlfriends seriously discussing with their friends their boyfriends' weakness so that they could make a wise decision, and wives seriously defending their husbands' honor so that they could make a lasting marriage. Unfortunately, ignoring your boyfriends' weakness and gossiping about your husband's failures are two sure paths to divorce.

If you haven't talked about it to your partner, you have no business talking about it to someone else, unless it's a particularly touchy issue and you're seeking godly wisdom as to how to share it or broach the topic.

Hendricks turned to his wife and said, "A great man. How many great men do you know?" "One fewer than you think," she answered.

We want to be like Jesus, we need to begin initiating love toward others — starting with our spouses and moving on to friends, family, and coworkers.

We're not called to judge our spouses—ever; we are called to love them. We are not called to recount their failures in a Pharisaic game of "I'm holier than you"; we're called to encourage them. We are not called to build a case against them regarding how far they fall short of the glory of God; we are called to honor and respect them.