👄👅🗣️👂Talking to each other is a natural and important part of married life. If you do not talk to your spouse, who else will you talk to? How can you adequately express your love, thoughts, feelings, desires, etc., if you do not talk?
👄👅🗣️👂BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF WORDS
However, it is important for spouses to understand that, because of the nature and power of words, it is expedient for them to learn how to speak with wisdom, tact, decorum, and an understanding of the right timing.
💋In view of the foregoing, it is critical for spouses to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit regarding just when and what they should say. Why? Because wrong words, like petrol, are highly inflammable (James 3:5) and can raze precious things that took years to build, resulting in incalculable losses and, sometimes, a charred and scarred relationship.
👄👅🗣️👂BE ALWAYS MINDFUL
We must always be mindful of the scriptural revelation that death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21) and that the tongue is an unruly evil:
📖”But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).
👅In view of the negative and positive powers of the tongue, spouses need to exercise restraint and self-control in their use of it because, sometimes, the harm resulting from a reckless utterance may take years to repair.
👄👅🗣️👂SOME HELPFUL GUIDELINES
As spouses, let the following guidelines direct your communication:
👄👅🗣️👂(1) BE SLOW TO SPEAK!
God’s Word commands us:
📖”Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry” (James 1:19b, EHV).
🗣️Even though it is true that marriage has made you and your spouse one flesh and that you can now freely see each other’s nakedness, you must always be conscious of the fact that your spouse is still a distinctly different individual, with feelings, understanding, and perspectives of their own, and that they can be offended. You must, therefore, take heed to this Scripture and always be swift to hear but SLOW TO SPEAK, because one wrong word can trigger a chain of reactions that you least expect.
👂The command to be quick to listen but SLOW TO SPEAK must regulate our use of the tongue wherever we may be: at home, in the workplace, in the church, or out in the big, wide world.
🗣️The ancients have wisely said:
🐢”Men have two ears, and but one tongue, that they should hear more than they speak.”
👄Doesn’t this make great sense? You are wiser and more mature when you have the self-discipline to listen more and talk less. On the other hand, when you rant, babble, ramble, and chatter aimlessly because you want to be heard, you inadvertently show that you are an unwise, indiscreet, and short-sighted person.
🗣️Here is another saying from the days of yore:
🐢”The ears are always open, ever ready to receive instruction; but the tongue is surrounded with a double row of teeth, to hedge it in, and to keep it within proper bounds.”
👂This makes it even plainer: the nature and positioning of the ears and the tongue eloquently declare how they should function.
And it is said of the biblical virtuous woman: “She openeth her mouth with wisdom” (Proverbs 31:26b). She was a woman who had control over her tongue. She would never speak unless Wisdom bade her to do so.
🤠Husbands and wives, you need to be swift to hear but slow to speak!
🤓Do not let your feelings be the “opener” of your mouth. Instead, like the virtuous woman, let Wisdom be the guardian of your speech life.
👄👅🗣️👂(2) BE INWARDLY PRAYERFUL TO KNOW WHEN AND WHAT TO SAY
Long ago, at Makurdi Christian Center, Makurdi, Nigeria, we used to sing:
🪘”We must wait, wait, on the Lord / We must wait, wait, wait on the Lord / Learn our lessons well / And in His time He will tell us/ What to do, where to go, and what to say!”
🕊️The Holy Spirit indwells as many of us as are born again, guiding us on where to go and what to say at the appropriate time.
🦁We must not let our angry and boiling feelings dictate what we should say. We must rely on the Blessed Holy Spirit to give us His timely promptings that lead to success.
🐯Sometimes, what is boiling within you and “pushing” you to talk may not even be right in the first place. However, unless you are patient enough to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, you may utter those words to your own hurt, shame, and embarrassment.
👄👅🗣️👂CONCLUSION
The peace, serenity, bliss, joy, and harmony of your marriage depend largely on your ability and that of your spouse to use your tongues rightly.
🗣️There is nothing beautiful about being talkative. There is nothing wrong with both of you sitting quietly for an hour or two when there is nothing gainful to talk about or discuss. Moreover, it is never an offence to sit together in silence.
👅By God’s grace, we shall continue this teaching tomorrow, when we will consider other guidelines that will help you communicate wisely in your respective marriages. 👂👄
💕♥️Tonight’s Bedroom Assignment: Re-read this devotional together just before bedtime and discuss it with open and sincere hearts.
✝️Altar Call: Jesus Christ is calling you! Come to Him today in genuine repentance. Believe in Him and be saved!
📚📖✒️Quotes For Reflection: “If under a harsh and repressive regime, the Israelites kept their Marriages strong, because they UNDERSTOOD that it was their secret weapon for silently “fighting” those who were out to break their spirits and reduce their population, much more should you who is in this wonderful era of Grace understand that sexual intimacy in marriage is much more than for making babies but a means of receiving fresh comfort, consolation, reinvigoration, rejuvenation, mood enhancement and other manifold benefits to help you overcome challenges in a world of ceaseless strifes and distresses.”(From Lovebirds’ Devotional, November 29, 2024)
🧪⚗️Scientific Info To Boost Your Marriage:
🔬”The study found that couples who ate fish twice a week or more had sex 22% more frequently than those who didn’t. It also found that eating more fish helped the couples (who were all trying to conceive) get pregnant easier: 92% of couples who ate fish twice a week or more became pregnant, compared with 79% of the couples who ate fish less often.”🔬
📢HALLELUJAH!
🎷PRAISE THE LORD!
🚨Please, share the LINK of this devotional message to at least TEN of your married friends and contacts!!🚨