Money and Marriage

No, this post is not about which spouse handles the budget and bills. Nor is it about any particular amount of money and not even about a suggested budget by which you should live. Rather, this is about how money and marriage are connected in a way you probably have not thought about before.

Around twenty-four hundred years ago, the prophet Malachi spoke divinely-inspired words to the people of Israel.

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Malachi 1:1 (NIV)
A prophecy: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.

As a part of Malachi's challenging words (God's words, really) to the people of God, we find statements about the connection between money (specifically those gifts offered as sacrifices) and marriage.

Malachi 2:13-14 (NIV)
Another thing you do: You flood the LORD'S altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

The people, specifically husbands, heard those words explaining why they were missing out on the blessings associated with giving tithes and offerings. To summarize what the prophet said: "Husbands, God is not pleased with your gifts when you are mistreating the gift of your wives."

Recall the motivating words behind this whole blog:

Romans 12:1 (MSG)
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.

Husbands who long to please the Lord cannot expect to do so if they love God but do not love their closest neighbors - their wives. No one should expect God to turn a blind eye to the area (or areas) of neglect in his or her life.

Are you exceptionally generous yet pitiful at forgiveness? Do you serve your church well but not your wife / husband? Are you honest with your personal finances yet freely lie?

A great enough number of the husbands in Malachi's day forsook their wives to necessitate a divine rebuke. Twenty-four hundred years later, that rebuke remains necessary. Necessary, yes, in regard to marriage but also in near countless other areas of life as well.

In which aspect(s) of your life do you need a divine rebuke?

• If you know your answer, now is the time to make a change.
  
• If you do not know your answer, listen for one. When you hear (or discover) the answer, make a change.
  

The second verse of Malachi is worth stating at this point.

Malachi 1:2a (NIV)
“I have loved you,” says the LORD.

The Lord loves you. He loves you too much to turn a blind eye.

#ordinarylives