The teaching of 1 Corinthians 8 deals with meat sacrificed to idols, but the broader application is that of our guidelines and actions regarding issues where there is liberty in the Christian life. This important chapter teaches us about our foremost responsibility to show love to others.

To Eat or Not to Eat

“Now as touching things offered unto idols…” (1 Cor. 8:1).

In Paul’s day, there were two places to buy meat: the market and the local pagan temples. Animals were sacrificed at these temples and their meat was offered to their gods and idols on pagan altars. Some of this meat was burned completely in honor of the god, and some was sold at the temple, where one could even sit and eat it (v. 10).

There was disagreement in the Corinthian church as to whether it was permissible to buy and eat meat from the pagan temple. There was also the issue of being served meat purchased at the temple as guests in someone else’s home. Some believers were against ever eating meat offered to idols and others did not have any problem with it.

One group of believers in Corinth said, “Don’t eat it! It’s unclean and wrong!” The other group said, “Looks good to me, and it tastes good too!” This might seem like a fight over steak or roast beef, but there was more to it; it was a doctrinal issue. The “unclean-and-wrong” believers thought that any animal offered to a pagan deity bore the taint of wicked idolatry. The “looks-good-and-tastes-good” believers did so knowing that pagan deities were not real, so the meat couldn’t be polluted, and these believers ate it with a clear conscience.

How about you? If you lived back then, would you have eaten meat that had been offered to an idol? Some of you might say yes; others might say no way. What Paul shows in this chapter is that neither answer is wrong, and the apostle’s greater interest was that the Church show love and grace, one to another, and not cause a brother or sister in Christ to stumble.

Knowledge with Love

“Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of Him” (1 Cor. 8:1-3).

In verse 1, Paul wrote, “Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge.” The “knowledge” Paul referred to was knowledge about this subject. “Things offered unto idols” was not a subject about which the Corinthians were ignorant, and they each had their opinions and convictions (v. 7).

The Corinthians also had knowledge of their liberty in Christ. Previously, in 1 Corinthians (6:12), Paul had written of this liberty, that “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient,” or profitable. God has granted the Church great liberty in Christ, but that liberty can be misused. As Galatians 5:13 reminds us, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Paul did not want the knowledge of their liberty to lead the Corinthians to become proud rather than loving toward others. As Paul noted in verse 1 of our text, “Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.”

Knowledge is important in the Christian life. We need to know God’s Word (Psa. 119:125; Rom. 4:3), but mere intellectual knowledge that stands alone is incomplete. Knowledge without love produces pride because it can delude one into a sense of superiority. The words “puffeth up” mean to inflate, blow up, to cause to swell up with pride.

Knowledge without love can be a weapon that destroys and tears others down. One can be strong and mature in knowledge but weak and immature in love, or vice versa. To have knowledge without love or to have love without knowledge are both problems. Knowledge with love, knowing the Word and applying it to one’s life, is the call for the believer.

Paul’s point in this chapter is that it’s one thing to have knowledge of one’s liberty in Christ and to practice it, but knowledge by itself is not a sufficient guide in this matter of meat offered to idols because love is needed in consideration of the convictions and walk of fellow believers.

Paul added, “And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.” If we think we have mastered the Scriptures or any subject in it, we can count on the fact that they have not. A mature believer is one who recognizes how little he or she does know. And the more we know, the humbler it can make us, because we know that we do not know completely and that there is always more to know, to grow in, and to understand in the depths of the wisdom of God’s Word.

The Apostle Paul tells us that, if one supposes that he knows anything of divine matters without love, he has not yet known and understood as he ought to know. We must subject what we know in God’s Word to love. Knowledge with love opens true understanding.

God knows them that love Him, Paul wrote in verse 3. Our relationship with God is about both knowledge and love. And the person who knows God and loves Him has true knowledge of Him. Likewise, in turn, if we are to treat believers with an edifying love, it stems from knowing God and loving Him and then loving others with the love of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.

One True God

“As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things, and we by Him” (1 Cor. 8:4-6).

Concerning the eating of foods that were offered in sacrifice to idols, Paul wrote, “we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.” An idol is not real and alive. Since there is one God, then anything else that is called a god is not one. Idols are not competing gods. The stone, precious metal, or wood are real, but they are just a representation of a god that is a myth and the figment of man’s imagination. These fake gods exist only in the minds of their worshippers and not in reality (Isa. 37:19; Jer. 16:20). For example, if meat was offered to Zeus, there was and is no Zeus. Idols are nothing, and the meats offered to them therefore mean nothing and are entirely inconsequential.

There is not a god in or behind any idol; however, there are satanic, spiritual forces at work in idolatry (1 Cor. 10:20). The idols themselves are nothing, but the danger with idolatry lies in the demons working behind the scenes to deceive and to keep people from faith in the one, true, living God.

While there is only one God, Paul wrote there are many “that are called gods” (1 Cor. 8:5). Some of these gods were presumed to live in heaven, and others here on earth. The world then and the world today worship and serve these many fabricated, mythological “gods…and lords.”

“But to us,” Paul contrasted, “there is but one God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ.” While the world has its polytheism, we are monotheistic. While “there be gods many, and lords many,” we know that there is one true God and one true Lord. “An idol is nothing” (v. 4), but the one true God is everything, and by Him, the Almighty Creator, everything in creation was made.

For Better or For Worse

“Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse” (1 Cor. 8:7-8).

Some in the Corinthian church felt free to eat the meat that was offered to idols based on their liberty in Christ and their knowledge that idols are nothing. However, others did not have that knowledge and understanding of liberty and the nothingness of idols. They were conscious of the idol. For them, to eat the meat would be done with the thought that it had been sacrificed to the idols, which grated and upset their conscience. It was not just regular meat like any other meat for these believers.

Paul explained that “their conscience being weak is defiled.” Their conscience was weak, not because their conscience didn’t work, but because it overworked, and they put stipulations on themselves that were not necessary. Their conscience was still operating with the knowledge that there was something to idol worship that contaminated the meat and made eating it to be wrong. Thus, their weak conscience was defiled, and a defiled conscience is one that has been disregarded and transgressed, resulting in guilt and shame.

Paul added, “But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things, and we by Him.” 1 Corinthians 8:6 the worse.” In other words, you aren’t more spiritual if you know idols are nothing and you know you have the personal freedom to eat meat sacrificed to idols, and you do it. But also, you are not less spiritual for abstaining from eating meat sacrificed to idols. One didn’t gain or lose anything by eating the idol meat, and one didn’t gain or lose anything by refusing it.

What we do or do not choose to eat, does not make us more or less pleasing to God. Food is spiritually neutral. Those who enjoyed their liberty in Christ and ate meat sacrificed to idols did not make God more pleased with them. Those who abstained from it, thinking it unclean, did not make God less pleased with them. Before God, we are no better or worse if we partake or abstain from eating certain foods.

As the writer of Hebrews put it, “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein” (Heb. 13:9).

Love Limits Liberty

“But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend” (1 Cor. 8:9-13).

Under grace, it is not wrong for a believer to eat pork. With the change in dispensations, Paul tells the Church, “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving” (1 Tim. 4:4). However, eating pork was wrong under the law of Moses, which prohibited it. Today, a believer is at perfect liberty to partake of pork chops, pulled pork, barbecued ribs, ham, pork roast, and
best of all, bacon.

However, suppose a Jewish person gets saved under grace and comes out of Judaism. He or she might still struggle with this liberty and might feel that it is still wrong to eat pork. It may take time to understand and come to live in the full enjoyment of the liberty that is in Christ, or the person may never eat pork.

A believer could possibly hinder the spiritual growth of one like this by flaunting the liberty today under grace and purposely eating pork in front of them. That’s the sort of thing Paul is teaching
about here.

Paul goes on to show that while there is nothing to gain with God by eating meat sacrificed to idols, there might be much to lose. There was nothing wrong with eating the meat offered to idols, and there was also nothing wrong with refusing to eat the meat offered to idols. However, a believer does wrong if he understands his liberty but, by practicing it, causes someone whose conscience is against it to stumble in his or her faith.

The practice of one’s liberty under grace can trip others up in life, and God does not want members of His church to cause other believers to stumble in their walk due to insensitive actions. Instead, in love, we are called to edify and build each other up (1 Cor. 8:1).

Those “which hast knowledge” (v. 10) that idols and the meat sacrificed to them were nothing were eating the meat hot off the altars and sitting at the temple to eat it. They saw idolatry for what it was. They did not participate in the pagan practices of the temple, but in their liberty and faith, they could associate with pagan people and eat a juicy steak at the temple with a completely clear conscience. And this was not wrong.

Where this became a problem, however, was “if any man see thee…sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols…?” These brethren had not yet come to a place where they could say, “This is just meat, and it tastes good!” In their minds, it was still connected to the false worship of false gods, and it violated their conscience to eat it.

The trouble with a brother with a weak conscience seeing another Christian dining at a pagan temple, Paul says, was that the brother might be “emboldened” to join in and eat meat offered to idols and be encouraged to do what his conscience condemned. The believer who has a firm grasp on his liberty but does not use that liberty with care and love may give the weaker believer the boldness to run the red light of their conscience. And this was wrong.

The knowledge of one’s liberty was not to be the only factor that determined whether one ate idol meat or not. Love for a brother in Christ was an additional and significant factor to consider. Thus, love limits our liberty. In love, we are to always consider what effect our actions might have on others in the church.

Paul asked, “And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?” The word “perish” means to destroy another’s well-being and peace or render useless. This is not speaking of the loss of one’s salvation, but rather the ruination or destruction of the working of God in one’s life. Our actions can impede the spiritual progress of other believer’s or even cause them to slip back into a lifestyle they had left when they got saved.

Paul reaches for the heart when he adds, “for whom Christ died.” That is how we are to view our brothers and sisters in Christ, as those who are deeply loved by Christ, for whom He shed His precious blood. And if Christ loved that brother enough to die for him, then we are to show him love by not putting any stumbling block in his way and not doing anything that might hinder his walk with the Lord. Paul further stated in verse 12 that causing a brother to stumble is more than just an offense against him; it is an offense against Christ and a sin against Him.

In light of these things, Paul concluded by putting himself in the place of the person who might cause another brother to stumble. Paul shows how far he would go, out of love, for the sake of not harming someone’s spiritual growth. And he said that if eating meat would harm a brother’s spiritual life, he would never eat meat again as long as the world stands! He would choose to abstain from eating meat forever if doing so would set a fellow believer back in his walk. In this matter of meat offered to idols, the spiritual well-being of other believers was the most important thing to Paul.

Although the subject of meats offered to idols is not a problem for most believers today, the principles that the Holy Spirit gives us in this section are valuable for this entire age. There are many things in our current world today which, while not expressly forbidden in God’s Word, might still cause believers with a weak conscience to be offended.

Our culture in the United States strongly promotes our personal rights. However, we need to remember that there is something more important than exercising our rights in the liberty we have under grace, and that is the work of God in the life of other believers.

Our actions in the Christian life are never to be based solely on what we know to be permissible for ourselves. Out of love, we also need to take the important, additional step of carefully considering how our actions will affect others in the Church, and then do what is best for them, not us.

“All warfare is based on deception. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.” – Sun Tzu

Roughly twenty-five hundred years ago, military strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War, which may be the most influential text on military strategy and tactics in history. It is so highly regarded that the United States Military Academy, aka West Point, uses it as instructional material in the Military Strategy course and is recommended reading for all United States Military Intelligence personnel.

The Art of War has remained relevant over the years because it is about strategy and tactics rather than specific warfare technology. General Douglas MacArthur, five-star general and onetime supreme commander of the Allied Powers, said, “I always kept a copy of The Art of War on my desk.”

Divided into 13 chapters or arts, one of the work’s key ideas is the importance of deception and distraction in any conflict. Many of the most famous and consequential battles in history have utilized the art of deception and distraction in order to achieve victory.

The Trojan War famously ended thanks to a ruse and the resulting distraction of a giant wooden horse. Believing the enemy had fled and their city and homes safe, the people of Troy let their guard down. However, the enemy was closer than they ever imagined; he was in their midst, and they had no idea.

The Allied landing at Normandy on D-Day during WWII was one of the most significant battles in history, and it relied heavily on the art of distraction to achieve victory. It marked the largest military invasion in history as Allied forces launched an assault on Nazi-occupied Europe.

On the night of June 5 into June 6, 1944, a significant number of Allied paratroopers descended over Normandy. However, they weren’t alone in their descent on D-Day. In order to mislead German forces as to the true focus of the attack, hundreds of inflatable paratroopers were also dropped over both Normandy and Calais.

Known as Oscars by Americans and Ruperts by British forces, these decoy soldiers were part of Operation Titanic. Their purpose was to help distract attention from Normandy by making the Germans believe Calais was the actual target for invasion. These dummy paratroopers came in various forms and played a significant role in sowing confusion among German troops during those critical initial hours of the operation, allowing the invading forces to gain a foothold. And a foothold is often the only thing necessary for an enemy to secure a path that leads to destruction.

Mankind may use the art of distraction, but it originated and was perfected by “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan.” As Peter warned, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).

The word “sober” refers to sober-mindedness. It’s the idea of self-control, clarity of mind, steadfastness, and keeping your passions under proper restraint. Without a doubt, Satan will use distractions in order to gain a foothold in our lives. We need to “be vigilant”—ever watchful against the subtle and wicked designs of our spiritual enemy.

Distracted from God

“Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent’s fate.” – Sun Tzu

When God introduces mankind to his enemy, Satan, He does so by describing him as “more subtil than any beast of the field” (Gen. 3:1). If the old axiom “Know thyself and thy enemy” is true, then mark well the very first attribute of Satan that God warns us about: he is “subtil.”

The word “subtil” (Hebrew arum) can have either a positive or negative connotation. In the negative sense, which is no doubt the intent here, it means crafty, as we see in Job 5:12: “He [God] disappointeth the devices of the crafty [arum].” Satan is indeed crafty. We may be acutely aware of Satan’s goal to destroy us while dangerously unaware of his tactics.

There are two areas in a person’s life that Satan wishes to attack above all else, the first being our relationship with God—as evidenced by his first recorded action—working to create separation between Adam and God. How did Satan go about this? What tactic did he use? He baited Adam and Eve by dangling a distraction in front of them. He distracted Adam and Eve with the opportunity and thoughts to have something they did not at that moment have—to “be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5).

The art of distraction is one of Satan’s most commonly used and most successful tactics. No wonder then that God warned Israel prior to leaving the wilderness and entering the promised land, “Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God” (Deut. 8:11). He warned them repeatedly not to forget Him (cf. 6:12; 8:14,19).

God’s warning to Israel was simple: when you go into the land and have “eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein…and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God” (8:12-14). God knew that Israel would turn their attention from Him and to the things of this world. It is easy to become distracted from God when we stop living as though our lives are entirely dependent upon Him.

God’s warning to Israel to “not turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (Deut. 5:32; Prov. 4:27) was basically a warning not to become distracted but rather stay the course and keep their focus on Him and His commandments. The “first and great commandment” to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matt. 22:37-38 cf. Deut. 6:5) essentially conveys the need to avoid becoming distracted and giving God less focus and attention than one should.

Paul tells us that the god of this world (Satan) “hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Cor. 4:4). Literally, Satan obscures the light of the gospel. How does one obscure something? Often, they simply put something in the way.

Satan puts various things (distractions) between the non-believer and the gospel. He has always done this. We might recall what Christ told the twelve Apostles regarding some who encounter the Word of God, “the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becometh unfruitful” (Mark 4:19).

It makes no difference if you are a believer or non-believer; our enemy is actively engaged in trying to create separation between you and God, and we should not be so foolish to think he will ever stop. We must be watchful of anything that would draw our attention from God, the study and meditation of His Word, and prayer.

This world has a way of providing many places to focus our attention other than on God. But the good soldier doesn’t “entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please Him Who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Tim. 2:4). Or as David said, “I have set the LORD always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved” (Psa. 16:8).

Paul told Timothy, “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.…Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them” (1 Tim. 4:13-15). “Wholly” to what? To “reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” Believer, understand and know that this world is set up in such a way as to demand your time and distract your mind. Do not accept it; fight the course of this world and make time for the Lord—“Let the Word of Christ dwell [inhabit] in you richly [abundantly]…” (Col. 3:16).

Satan will also try to distract our service to God. We see an example of this just before David fought Goliath. When David arrived at the Israelite camp, he “came and saluted his brethren” (1 Sam. 17:22), but then, hearing the taunts of Goliath and saying, “who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God” (v. 26) David is presented with a distraction. Immediately, after hearing what David had said, his eldest brother Eliab’s “anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart” (v. 28).

But David didn’t take the bait. After a quick rebuke, David “turned from him toward another” (v. 30). David kept his focus on serving God and did not allow himself to get distracted for any reason, including defending himself. It’s not uncommon for people who genuinely love the Lord and start out with the mindset of serving Him to get distracted and end up serving themselves. Our enemy is good at pulling the right heartstrings to get us to focus on our wants instead of God’s instructions.

Distracted Spouses

The second area in a person’s life that Satan wishes to attack above all else is our relationship with our spouse. In marriage, we find the first relationship to exist beyond that between man and his Creator. It is the most important human relationship a man or woman can have. Consequently, it is the most important human relationship that Satan would seek to divide. No matter what we see in this world, no matter what baits are out there, we can rightfully expect that Satan’s true focus is on dividing and destroying marriages.

When, in the Garden, Satan sought to create separation between mankind and God, he was also seeking to create separation between man and his wife. How quickly, in Adam’s eyes, Eve went from “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Gen. 2:23) to “the woman whom Thou gavest to be with me” (Gen. 3:12).

The relationship between husband and wife existed prior to all other human relationships and takes precedence over all other relationships. Our marriages come before and are above all other expectations. In a Godly marriage, each puts God first and their spouse second. Nothing interrupts that order: not children, not work, not politics, not entertainment, not yourself; nothing comes before your spouse
except God.

Christians, your homes are under attack! Satan has every intention to invade your home, and with the use of subtleness (craftiness), he intends to divide and conquer. The surest way to lead the world away from God is not through the secular culture but by dividing the home—God’s first and most important institution.

Distraction will be his tactic that you can be sure of and, better yet, plan for. He is like the general who sends troops in one direction simply to distract his opponent and capture his attention so that he is not focused and becomes vulnerable.

What are the distractions that capture most people’s attention and which become Satan’s tool? Entertainment, politics, world events, and even ministry responsibilities. There are many things, even good things, that distract us from what is most important. We need to ensure we don’t have a misplaced ministry. Our spouse is the first and always most important ministry. It comes before every other ministry.

There are some sobering truths that should cause us to question ourselves: in the U.S. the average Christian spends more time listening to political news and pundits than to their spouse. As important as being informed and even involved in the current state of politics and culture is, it pales in comparison to the importance that God places and expects you to place on your spouse.

Like with Eliab and David, the enemy will present you with another enemy to fight to distract you from the more critical battle. The home is the more critical battle. For many, 75% of the time they get to spend with their children is over by the time they turn twelve. 90% by the time they turn eighteen.

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:15-17).

The importance of these words and their relevance to marriages hits home when we recognize that they come just prior to Paul’s instructions to husbands and wives (vv. 22-28). “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it” (v. 25). Is Christ distracted? Do we ever find Him too busy to talk to, lean on, or learn from?

One of the main tools of distraction today is the mobile phone, and social media in particular. It truly is a weapon of mass distraction. According to one source, more people in the world own a mobile phone than a toothbrush. On average, in the U.S., Americans check their phones between 60-144 times per day and spend 4 hours and 30 minutes on their mobile phones each day. That equates to more than one day per week, six days per month, and seventy days per year.

Most children get their first phone by age 12, and based on current life expectancy, that means they will likely spend 12 years of their life looking at a phone. According to a 2022 study, 78% of all females say they spend more time on their smartphones than with their partners. On average, people spend 2 hours and 27 minutes on social media daily. Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, X, Pinterest, Reddit, and Snapchat are all ways spouses are distracted, and the home is being attacked.

Seventy-eight percent of people check their social media feeds before any spiritual involvement in their life, i.e., prayer or Bible reading. We have a problem when a spouse is more interested in the most recent post than they are in prayer, more interested in Snapchat than chatting with their spouse, with Facebook than the Good Book. We need to have our face in the Book much more than being on Facebook. If we don’t, we aren’t merely inviting trouble; it’s already there, much like the people of Troy, who had no clue that their homes weren’t safe and the enemy was already in their midst.

Social media isn’t the only tempter when it comes to our phones. Wake up in the morning and look at how many notifications you have. We get notifications from news sources telling us about the latest events around the world, the latest sales on Amazon, and so much more. Look at your email, and there is bound to be one right after another trying to get your attention. Attention from whom? Attention from what? This grasp for our attention is by design. What is the cost? What is the price of allowing so much of our time and focus to be pulled away from our spouse and our marriages?

Remember the old saying, “You got time to lean; you got time to clean”? Christian husbands and wives, you got time to play, you got time to pray. How much time have you spent praying for your spouse? How much time have you spent contemplating them, their struggles, their needs, and their wants?

As believers we know that we live in an evil day. We know that we have an enemy. We need to put the world aside and focus on our spouse. They need us to do this. Every day, our spouses face temptations and trials, and we need to communicate with each other and pray for each other. In marriage, the two become one, and we need to spend time each morning preparing each other for the day ahead if we are to succeed at thwarting the enemy’s schemes to divide us.

Finally, consider the eternal consequences of becoming distracted from our spouses. In Colossians 3:18-25, the Apostle Paul lays out responsibilities to various groups of people, but not surprisingly, he begins with spouses. Note the warning of verse 25, “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.”

Our spouse is a gift of God, they are the most important ministry we will ever have. To God, our
spouse is precious. I’m reminded of Leah and Rachel. Jacob was married to both, but he loved Rachel. Apparently, seeing Leah not loved didn’t sit well with our God: “And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, He opened her womb” (Gen. 29:31). How would God see our marriage and the time we spend occupied in things less important? Are you spending your time wisely with God and your spouse as your focus?