Sin in a Christian Marriage
“How do I confront my spouse’s negative behavior?”
“What does it look like to be a godly wife when my husband has stopped caring?”
“Is God is okay with me ending my marriage?”
“How do I continue to love and serve my husband if he is not being a spiritual leader in the home?”
The question is actually about how to deal with sin in marriage. Every marriage will struggle with sin- individual sin, sin against each other, even sin against God.
How do I love like Jesus when I feel so hurt and hopeless?
Depending on your upbringing and whether or not it involved church, this question makes everyone stumble. Betrayal, neglect, anger, pornography, and other negative behaviors are difficult to address when you are hurt enough to leave but scripture and the church seem to tell you to forgive and fight for your marriage. And then there’s that submission thing….
So Matt and I are tackling this question together- because being in a military (and first responder) marriage has extra variables like PTSD, compassion fatigue, and constant changes in roles at home.
In response to my message in Sacred Spaces that we should be pursuing our spouse, I commonly get emails that sound like this…
“How long should I pursue my spouse when they aren’t reciprocating?”
“What if my service member came home different and neglects me and our family?”
“How long must I lead before my husband picks up his role as the spiritual leader of our home?”
These are tough questions and the root issue here is…
“How do we address sin in a Christian marriage?”
- Matt and I continue our discussion on gender roles in a godly marriage
- We share some of our own story of how we addressed unmet expectations in our marriage
- Matt talks to service members who have come home different and need hope
I’ve also attached ALL of my favorite resources as well. SAVE IT. You will want to reference it later and pass it to a friend- I promise. You wouldn’t believe how many struggle with this in silence.
There’s a whole lot more than this, but these are some of my favorites:
Podcasts:
Setbacks in Marriage- The Podcast Episode
Women & the Tough Bible Verses– (Topic of Submission and gender roles in the Bible- Authentic Intimacy)
People Are More Important Than Marriage– Authentic Intimacy, When you shouldn’t fight for your marriage.
Sexual Intimacy and Post Affair with Mike Sytsma
How do Affairs Happen? New Life Church, Brady Boyd
Articles:
So You’ve Hit a Marriage Setback: 3 Steps
Military Marriage: When to Separate
Mike Sytsma- Betrayal & Affair Recovery (articles and video)
Protecting Your Marriage from an Affair
Books:
Mission Ready Marriage: My Life As An Active Duty Wife Claire Wood
Sacred Spaces: My Journey to the Heart of Military Marriage Corie Weathers
