Servanthood in Marriage

Servanthood in Marriage

Submit To One Another Out Of reverence For Christ. - Ephesians 5:21

Marriage involves an act of abandonment. In its simplest form, it means you cannot take your single lifestyle into your marriage. You can no longer think as a single person.

The word “we” replaces “I.” You can no longer respond, plan, play or have the involvements of a single person.

Every aspect of your life will be shared, from the dresser drawers, closet and bathroom to the way you spend your money and plan for the yearly vacation.

Your calling now is togetherness, and that involves making life easier for your partner rather than creating more work. You are now adopting the role of a servant. Christ calls you to serve Him and one another.

In a marriage relationship, being a servant is an act of love, a gift to your partner to make his or her life fuller. It is an act of strength and not of weakness.

It is a positive action that has been chosen to show your love to each other. The apostle Paul said, “Submit to one another” (Eph. 5:21)—don’t limit the role of servanthood to a wife. It is meant for both of you.

A servant may also be called an “enabler,” in the good sense of the word, which means “to make better.”

As an enabler you are to make life easier for your partner instead of placing restrictive demands upon him or her.

A servant is also someone who edifies another person.

In the New Testament, to edify someone often refers to building up another person.

Do you know how you will do this throughout the years of your marriage? Take the following verses into your heart and practice them each day:

Let us then definitely aim for and eagerly pursue what makes for harmony and for mutual upbuilding (edification and development) of one another (Rom. 14:19, Amp.).

Let each one of us make it a practice to please (make happy) his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him [to strengthen him and build him up spiritually] (Rom. 15:2, Amp.).

Encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thess. 5:11).
First Corinthians 8:1 sums up the matter of edifying: “Love builds up.”

That is your calling—never tear down, don’t just maintain, but always build up.

When you follow this advice, it won’t matter at all that you gave up your single life. Look at what you gained. It can be far more than you ever imagined!