Relationships: The Epitome of Free Enterprise

or - RISING ABOVE RELIGION

"One of the many differences between religion and true spirituality is the heart. Everything we do should be done from a heart of faith and love. If it is not done from the heart it is usually behavior that is driven to gratify our own senses! As such, our very pursuit of loving relations becomes an exercise in indulgence and self-gratification. That would be enough to wear down the best marriage, but it doesn't stop there. One of the meanest rules of religion is obligation!

     Religion tells you to obey God's Word because you are obligated. When obligation is your motivation corruption is sure to follow. Obedience that emerges from trust in a loving God and trust in the reality that God wants us to have the best leads to a fulfilled life. Obedience that comes from obligation gives birth to dead legalism!

     You may not know this, but the divorce rate is slightly higher among Christians than non-Christians. While there may be many things that play a part in this sad statistic I believe the concept of obligation is a contributing factor. Christians have tendency when there is trouble in the marriage to do one of two things. It seems the first attitude that emerges under pressure is, "You can't leave me; we're Christians." I can't begin to tell you how many times I met with this attitude. Suffice it to say, no one solves relationship conflicts because they are obligated.

     This is why so many believers backslide when their marriage begins to fall apart. They feel that if they stay connected to God He will force them to stay in a bad marriage. They feel trapped and desperate. I'll be sharing how I have helped many couples free themselves from this trap. You'll also discover how I have helped many divorcees gain freedom from guilt and move on with a productive marriage and ministry.

     Relationships are the epitome of free enterprise. In the free enterprise system if you don't provide quality service for your customers they go somewhere else. I am not saying that we should look at our mate and say, "If you don't make me happy I'll find someone who will." But I am saying we should all look at our mate and say, "If I don't do my part to make him/her feel precious and loved someone else will!" In other words, I am going to keep my mate the same way I got her; I'm going to court her for life. I will never develop an attitude that says I'll keep her through obligation. I don't know about you, but my strategy is, "I am going to treat you so well there's no way that you won't wake up every day madly in love with me!" Of course, this is just scratching the surface.” 

Excerpt from Dr. Jim Richards, IMPACT Ministries ‘World Changers’ monthly message – July 2012

[Italics, underlines and bold are mine...]