Don't Be Surprised At Your Spouse's Sin

     Here we go again. Another eye opener. Why is it that we think that, once we are married, we will live happily ever after?
     Most of us get married thinking it will make us happy. And marriage can make us happy. But what happens when our spouse sins? Are we surprised? Do we get angry? Do we become disappointed?
    Could it be that we have a wrong understanding of our sinful hearts and also of our spouse's? Many don't realize that when we come to Christ, although we are completely cleansed from our sins, we still have a sinful nature to contend with daily. Listen to this quote from Paul Tripp:
"It is when we face who we are and the fickleness of our hearts that we feel the need to have our hearts recaptured morning after morning. It is when we reflect on the fact that sin is not always a horror to us but sometimes appears positively attractive that we want to run into the protective arms of the Lord again and again. It is when we consider the dangerous temptation of this fallen world that we will want to get help for the battle day after day. It is fear of our own weakness that drives us to the Savior for strength. It is when we fear the power of foolishness that still remains in us that we are propelled to daily seek the wisdom that can be found only in the pages of Scripture." 
   Each one of us who have been born again has to make war against sin, every day. We all need the power of God to help us live a Godly life. Our spouses need the same. I like a quote from C.J. Mahaney which goes like this,  "Sin, though inevitable, is never acceptable." Can we grasp this concept for ourselves? How about for our husbands and wives?
  I'm not saying that we should let our spouses continue in sin. If our spouse is beating us up or abusing us, that needs to be addressed. But people have bad days. They get up on the wrong side of the bed, so to speak. Can we be patient with our spouse and give grace to him or her? But even deeper than that, are we surprised when we fall into sin ourselves? In Proverbs 24:16 it says, "For a just man falls seven times, and rises up again: but the wicked will fall into mischief." God picks us up and dusts us off and will do the same for our spouses. 
   In Matthew 7, Jesus instructs us to take the log out of our own eyes, then we can take splinters out of other people's eyes. The key here is to deal with our own hearts before we deal with others. We have to deal with our own hearts because of remaining, indwelling sin. The Enemy of our souls will attack us with temptations only in the places where we are most vulnerable. We will not see those places, and that is why they get attacked. That is why we must be on guard and praying.
  So, do not be surprised at your spouse's sins, and don't be surprised at your own. It happens to all of us. The Bible tells us to be on guard against sin. It also tells us to pray for one another. This is something to think about. Something worthwhile to ponder.