Marriage Is Like A Job

I (Tami) have been thinking lately how marriage is like a job.  I know some of you will quickly disagree.  Others of you will whence at my analogy.  I realize it doesn’t seem like a very romantic thing to say.  We’re more comfortable with phrases like, marriage is like a garden and love is a rose.  If you’ll humor me, I will to explain why I’m drawing the parallel.

But first, what comes to your mind when I say the word job?  A lot of people have a negative reaction and bad connotations to the idea of job.  Perhaps words like demanding and draining come to mind.  Maybe your mental jukebox begins to play tunes like “take this job and shove it” or “everybody’s working for the weekend.”  Yes, I realize not everyone enjoys their job and there are a variety of reasons why.  Some feel they are not being fairly compensated. Others don’t enjoy the people they have to work with.  Many don’t believe their work is appreciated or valued.  Plenty of people feel this way about their job, however, I’ve met numerous people who absolutely love their jobs!

Love it or hate it, your job has one main function and many special benefits.  What’s the main function?  Well, the bible equates work with the ability to eat.  2 Thessalonians 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”  So we might deduct that the point of work is the ability to eat.  But there is a higher calling to doing your job beyond the proverbial “if you don’t work you don’t eat.”  So what is it?  Let’s look deeper into the bible…  “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  1 Corinthians 10:31.  There it is… the purpose of your job isn’t only so that you can eat.  It is a way for you to give glory to God.

So, how does this relate to marriage?  I propose (no pun intended) that marriage is like a job in that it also has one main function and many benefits.  The main purpose of marriage is the same as your work and that is to give God glory.  In both our job and our marriage, God is meant to receive glory and we in turn receive the benefits of His blessing.

Glorifying God in our work means giving our best effort and growing in our knowledge, skill and effectiveness.  For a teachers and doctors this means continuing education.  On the job, God is given the most glory when we are growing and mastering the skills related to our work.  The same is true for our marriage.  Just as you would never trust your life to a doctor who is unaware of the latest medical breakthroughs, we should seek to master marriage in such a way that our spouse has full trust in us.

Our job in marriage is to work with our spouse (our coworker) to bring glory to God.  Our payment is His peace, protection and provision. Our partnership is with the Holy Spirit who brings us wise counsel and reminds us of best practices.  And our faithfulness is rewarded with things like Godly children and great intimacy with our spouse.  I don’t know about you but marriage is a great job with excellent benefits!

Marriage is like a job but it’s a labor of love.  Let’s commit to bringing God glory at work and at home and in the end I believe we’ll find that both will be blessed.

Take action:  What is one thing that you could do this week toward continued education when it comes to your marriage?

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 

~ 1 Corinthians 10:31 ~