Marriage: Politically yoked or unyoked
Marriage: Politically yoked or unyoked
When politics causes friction in a marriage
Most of us know what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:14 where Paul warns us not to be yoked with unbelievers. But there is nothing about being equally yoked for a political marriage.
When we finally find that person that we want to do life with, we become giddy with excitement! We start with the proposal, the engagement period, and then the wedding plans.
Then BAM! Things with the wedding don’t go as planned and we start feeling stressed. But once those doors open and you see the love of your life standing there, the stress disappears. Your only focus is on that moment and nothing else matters. The wedding celebration is over and you’re on Cloud Nine as you head towards the honeymoon suite.
Life is great!!! The honeymoon stage still has you on Cloud Nine and then, all of a sudden, things start to shift. You have your first marital argument, financial problems, job changes, babies, and moving to different places can all add stress to a marriage. That’s how marriage goes. But what happens when politics comes into play, especially like it has with 2020 and the pandemic?
When both are one political party and one starts to change views, things can get a little bumpy. It’s a knee-jerk reaction that you can’t hide.
You try to talk about why things have changed for them. The talk then turns into a political debate and then a heated argument. Heated arguments lead to honeymoonless nights and tiptoeing around a stranger during the day. And in a pandemic, there is nowhere else to go.
Tensions get high. Things are said and then the quiet settles.
Sadly, we have let the politics and the pandemic take control of our daily lives. We have lost focus on the most important things in our marriage: Each other, our kids, home life, and jobs. We have let all these things go down the drain over people who do not care about us one way or the other.
Many marriages will not survive these things. So much love could have been saved if the marriage partners didn’t let it consume them from day to day.
Walk away from the television and electronics. Focus on your family. They have seen the back of you for far too long. These are the main ones who should matter most during such a time as this.
Thank you for writing exactly what I have been thinking!!! You are exactly correct in that our families are what are the most important!!!
Thanks for the comments Debi; let me take it step further. Del Webb's Sun City opened Jan.1, 1960. I have the good fortune of being on the board of the community's museum. This summer we restructured it to include 4 rooms to look like it did opening day and added exhibits on how Sun City shaped retirement going forward. All truly retro.
As i was taking visitors through yesterday, i explained the importance of those moving here taking ownership. Being blunt, life was simpler then. There was a handful of channels. news was on a couple of hours a day, people were forced to be socially connected to their neighbors. The community was successful because those moving here were responsible and accountable.
The easy argument is it was a different generation. True, but like your focus in the article, we are able to be different/better than we have become. We all need to take a step backwards, slow down, enjoy life more rather than rushing to see how much we can accumulate.
It starts from within; we all have the capacity to change. This past year has been beyond ugly, like you wrote, i have found myself caught in careful self-examination. Asking what matters isn't that difficult? Answering honestly is. If you start with those you love, it is a great baseline. Less TV, a good book, holding those around you, lashing out less, smiling more. So simple.
Thanks again.