Marriage Is Not Living "Happily Ever After"

  Marriage isn't living happily ever after, but we have been duped into thinking that it is. As little girls, we idolize Cinderella and other well known figures who do not inform us of Biblical truth concerning life, the way it really is.
  When we marry, the person we will live with the rest of our lives, is a sinner. That sounds cruel, at first. It sounds like a put down, but, unless you understand this truth, your marriage will not be very successful. Not only is our spouse a sinner, but over time, we will learn the sad truth that we, ourselves, are also sinners.
   What is a sinner? Someone who robs banks or sleeps around? Yes, but even more. Sinners are people who are proud. Sinners are bullies. Sinners are coveters. Sinners are manipulators. Matthew 15 gives some descriptions of sins, as well as 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Galatians 5:18-21. Here is a partial list of sins:
men who practice homosexuality 
greedy
revilers
swindlers
evil thoughts
murder
adultery
sexual immorality
theft
false witness
slander
impurity
sensuality
 idolatry
sorcery
enmity
strife
jealousy
fits of anger
rivalries
dissensions
divisions
envy
drunkenness
orgies

I am not going to define some of these terms, but you can look them up in a dictionary. There are more listed in different parts of the Bible. The bottom line is, we are all sinners and capable of doing terrible sins. We hurt ourselves, our spouses, and our sin offends God. It is hard for us to see our own sin, but we can easily spot sin in others. 
  I would recommend the book, 'When Sinners Say I Do' to my readers, to help explain God's perspective in marriage. Our expectations of marriage, and what God has designed marriage to be, are two different things. It is helpful for us to know this, and it will save us from a lot of grief if we can get this right from the beginning of our marriages.
  Here is a pdf file on "When Sinners Say 'I Do'". http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Reference/When%20Sinners%20Say%20I%20Do%20excerpts.pdf
You can also order the book on amazon.com.