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Famed physicist Stephen Hawking once said that women are the most intriguing mystery he ever came upon during his lifetime. Thirteenth-century poet Rumi agreed, writing, “A woman is a mystery to guide a wise and open man.”
I have spoken to and counseled countless numbers of extremely successful professionals—Fortune 500 company executives, NFL coaches and general managers, professional athletes, church ministry leaders, and many others at the top of their game.
In science, attempting to describe the origin of the cosmos remains an enigma beyond the reach of empirical inquiry. The events that transpired during and before the Big Bang (the name scientists give to the beginning of the universe as we know it) defy conventional understanding, transcending the boundaries of our known laws of nature.
In Matthew 19:9, Jesus said, “And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” Put another way, if a spouse has committed adultery, this kind of immorality is grounds for the marriage’s dissolution.
Think back to your last few arguments with your spouse. The times when something he or she did or said really set you off. Maybe you were fuming mad, even if for only a few moments. Perhaps you stirred angry in bed or vented with your friend about how upset you had become with your spouse.
We’ve all at some point entered a room, flipped the light switch, and discovered that the lights won’t come on. When this happens, what is usually the next thing we do? Right, we try it a second time. Maybe even a third time. But short of the rare situation where we learn our first failed attempt to turn on the light was merely a result of us not flipping the switch all the way, did our second and third attempts produce different results? Not at all.
In Exodus 20:14, when God first gave Moses and the Israelites the Ten Commandments, He listed plain and simple: “You shall not commit adultery.” Later, during Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He reemphasized this command: “You have heard it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’” (Matthew 5:27). And, oddly enough, the world agrees with this!
I put together an online course a few years ago on the Win-Win Marriage in which I provide participants a six-step process for finding win-win.
In the classic Charles Dickens tale A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge needs encounters with three ghosts—those of Christmas past, of Christmas present, and of Christmas future—so as to be able to step out of his shoes for a moment and see how his horrid actions and attitude are affecting those around him in negative ways that he can’t see otherwise.
At times, for a multitude of reasons, a newborn baby simply will not latch on and take his mother’s milk. Though the baby’s life is dependent on receiving the vital nutrition she has to offer, the mother/baby connection does not happen as naturally and easily as mom had dreamed it would.
As parents, we find ourselves continually giving instruction to our kids. Of course, we know the Lord expects us to instruct our children. We read in the Bible two such verses: Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not ignore your mother’s teaching. (Proverbs 1:8)
We read in the King James version of Matthew 25:40, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, ‘Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’” As followers of Christ, we believe that the incentive for serving other people goes beyond meeting that person’s need.
As loving parents, we are to be emotionally unprovoked. This is even the case during conflicts with our kids. According to 1 Corinthians 13:5, love “is not provoked.” Why do I surface this? I have a hunch. Provoked parents end up provoking their kids.
Have you as a parent ever heard someone without children say, “I’m not ready to be a parent”? If you have, I predict that outwardly you may have smiled and nodded at them, perhaps saying something like, “Yeah, parenting can be crazy tough”; but inside you were thinking, No one is ever ready to be a parent. You think I know what I’m doing? . . . Wait, where’s my son?
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