Laziness can be a seductive but deadly trait in just about all areas of life. It can be detrimental in our marriages, in our relationship with God, in parenting, in our service for God and our church life, in friendships and other relationships, and in our work situations. Starting with marriage, over the next few days I’m going to write about each of these areas of life.
Marriage – It is easy when we have been married a while it become lazy and complacent and not bother to look attractive for them or to not make the effort to spend time with our mate and really listen to them. How often are you so busy complaining or whining about your day so that you don’t think to ask what your husband’s or wife’s day was like? And when they start to tell you, do you actually listen? Or are you busy thinking about what you need to get ready for dinner or do next?
When he was working, my husband and I always tried to spend the first half hour after he got home together talking about our days, before we got onto other things that needed to be done. He also used to ring me during the day, say during his lunch hour, just to chat. He has done that ever since we have known each other as teenagers. Even though he’s home every day now, since he retired, I kind of miss those phone calls which only happen now when I am away for writing conferences or workshops.
When you’ve been married a long time it’s easy to treat your marriage partners in an offhand manner and forget to tell them how special they are to you. Remember the reasons why you fell in love with them to begin with and thank them for those qualities.
We often can treat our marriage partners in ways we would never consider treating those we don’t know as well, thinking they should just put up with our moods etc. No matter how long we have been married, that is no excuse for slacking off. Marriages need to be worked at.
My calendar today says ‘friends find the sweetest sense of happiness comes from being together.’ That expresses how I feel about my husband who is also my best friend. Those of you who are married, is that how you feel about your marriage partner?
This week I read of a local couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. When asked to sum up their 50 years of marriage in one sentence Margaret and David Halliday said, ‘It’s walking together and having faith in God.’
We’ll come to laziness in our relationship with God later but meanwhile, join me tomorrow for thoughts about the problem of laziness in parenting.
Keeping the happily ever after