Listening to the radio a while ago I heard a guy tell a story and in it was the best piece of advice I’ve ever heard:

The guy on the radio had been counselling a young man in his church. This young man had been married about 3 months.

During the session, he asked the young man how his marriage was going.

“Well, it’s good but we’re having a problem… she won’t submit to me like the bible says she should”

“Where does the bible say that?”

“Umm, in Ephesians 5… I think.”

“Turn to it, let’s see”.

“Here it is, Ephesians 4, starting at verse 22: Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord….”

“Wait. Stop right there. Start that sentence again.”

“Wives, submit…”

“Right, it starts by saying “wives”. Do you know what that means? It means it wasn’t written to you, it was written to her. You can skip that part and go on to the next section, what does the next section say?”

“err, verse 25: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

“Right! That’s the bit that’s for you to read.”

It’s so simple and yet so profound. We so often look at what other people should be doing and get upset that they are not doing what we think they should and yet we don’t focus on what we ourselves should be doing.

It’s not my job to get angry about my wife disobeying God, it’s my job to obey what God tells me to do. I think I can trust the creator of the universe to be able to discuss with my wife if she’s not doing what He tells her. If I have a problem, I should take it to Him and leave it there!

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Matthew 7:3

Please leave a comment and share with us what the best advice you have ever heard is.