Staying When You Feel Like Leaving (1)

“Humans must not pull apart what God has put together.”    Mk 10:9 CEB

Not every relationship can be saved. When physical, mental, or emotional abuse threatens your child’s safety, or your own, you may be forced to leave. Failing to do so could lead to tragedy. But where a workable resolution can be found, a troubled relationship can become a source of shared joy and fulfillment. Here are some keys to make staying worthwhile: Adopt God’s perspective on sin—yours and your spouse’s. One of the major problems is the way we classify sin—especially our partner’s. You’re understandably overwrought and anxious because they’re incorrigible and selfish. They’re the willful sinner—you’re the offended saint. They need a major overhaul, and you’re responsible to see they get it. Things like being critical, nagging, and controlling seem like small things compared to a spouse who swears, drinks, and visits porn sites. From God’s perspective, sin is sin—yours and theirs! It’s all harmful to relationships. Stop “classifying” sin and try to discover the relationship-transforming power of handling the situation the way Jesus taught. “How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Mt 7:4-5 NIV). You’ll be amazed at how God will cause your spouse to acknowledge and deal with “their” problem when you get honest and deal with “yours”!

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