A man went shopping with his wife. He left her to carry loads and their child while he walked ahead. When confronted about it, he said, in his hometown, men don’t help women carry loads in the market. This showed he had the wrong models in his life.
Friend, God will always give you a model to pattern your life after (1 Corinthians 11:1). But most times, people choose the wrong models, either consciously or unconsciously. Especially in the area of relationship and marriage, you cannot afford to copy everything you see here and there. Let God show you your model and follow well (Isaiah 51:1-2).
Since our marriage is meant to mirror the relationship between Christ and the church, unbelievers cannot be our model (Ephesians 5:21-33). Social media influencers cannot be the ones influencing your marriage while you hope to build a marriage that will glorify God. There are numerous marriages in the Bible and the church that are worth following (Acts 18:2, 26).
Unfortunately, many young people are unconsciously (and sometimes consciously) following what they see out there (Proverbs 7:25-27). For some, the way they propose to a lady, do courtship, plan their wedding, and go about their marriage are all a reflection of what they have exposed themselves to out there.
We need young guys and ladies who are so rooted in God and Christian ideals that they won’t be under pressure to dance to the tune of the world (Romans 12:1-2). When a supposed Christian brother tells you he won’t marry you unless he tests you by sleeping with you before marriage, you know that there is fire on the mountain. You need to run for dear life (1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:22).
Sometimes, when people say that there are no great marriages around them to learn from, it is because they are fixated on the wrong things (Matthew 6:21-24). They are looking for errotic love, not agape. They want a woman with the heart of Sarah but the attire of a harlot. They want a man with a six-pack who’s also a firebrand. They are not interested in a godly marriage (Proverbs 31:10-31). They only want a celebrity marriage.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria