• Home
  • About Me
  • Blog
    • Apologetics
    • Atheism
    • Bible
    • Devotion
    • Church
    • Evangelism
    • Hiddenness of God
    • Leadership
    • Philosophy
    • Religious Pluralism
    • Science and Faith
    • Theology
  • My Books
  • Video
  • Talks
  • Invite Me
No Result
View All Result
Rick Mattson Outreach Ministry
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Blog
    • Apologetics
    • Atheism
    • Bible
    • Devotion
    • Church
    • Evangelism
    • Hiddenness of God
    • Leadership
    • Philosophy
    • Religious Pluralism
    • Science and Faith
    • Theology
  • My Books
  • Video
  • Talks
  • Invite Me
No Result
View All Result
Rick Mattson Outreach Ministry
No Result
View All Result

Marriage part 1: Opposites

August 11, 2022
Sharon and me, 1982

About six years ago I started a little wedding business on the side.

To date I’ve hitched about 30 couples.

One of the requirements for my involvement is that couples sit with me for two sessions of pre-marriage counseling. I give them homework and in our discussions we get pretty deep into their relationship and issues.

Couple after couple, patterns emerge.

One is that many soon-to-be “man and wife” are opposite each other in significant ways.

For example, it’s often the case that she leads with emotion, he with logic.

Or she’s extroverted, he introverted.

Sometimes in both categories it’s the other way around.

It seems to me if your spouse is opposite you in a significant way you need to value the difference. 

But I find that many couples hadn’t thought of this. They tolerate difference but I wouldn’t say they value it.

In my own marriage it took me a long time to value those “opposite” traits in Sharon. I’m abstract, theoretical, metaphorical. She’s (weirdly) concrete, practical, literal.

I guess I assumed for a long time, at least subconsciously, that Sharon would come around to see the world the right way — my way.
Then one day I woke up and began to think that my spouse being different than me was a gift from the Lord, a counter-balance to even me out a bit. 
Maybe Sharon was there to pull me out of the clouds on occasion and ground my feet in the real world (over-rated!).
Share120Tweet75
Rick Mattson

Rick Mattson

Comments 3

  1. Jackie Dixon says:
    8 years ago

    A great reminder to value the differences in our spouse rather than tolerate those differences. Thanks for posting!

    Reply
  2. Sandi Asker says:
    8 years ago

    Ooh, you mean like I should love him more than I love myself?!?

    Reply
  3. Rick says:
    8 years ago

    Jackie, Since I think of myself as “normal,” I have a hard time adjusting to my opposite (in certain respects) as also being normal, even after all these years.

    Sandi, Secular culture tells me that I can't love others until I love myself. From a Christian perspective, that seems backwards, wouldn't you say?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Me

Rick Mattson Outreach Ministry

Rick Mattson

Evangelist & Writer

Hello & welcome to my blog! My name is Rick Mattson and I'm a traveling evangelist/apologist.

SUBSCRIBE! You'll be notified by email whenever a new post comes out
Loading

Categories

  • Apologetics (152)
  • Atheism (47)
  • Bible (32)
  • Church (67)
  • Devotion (102)
  • Evangelism (52)
  • Hiddenness of God (9)
  • Leadership (65)
  • Philosophy (7)
  • Religious Pluralism (14)
  • Science and Faith (3)
  • Theology (1)

Popular

  • Apologetics for Kids

    Apologetics for Kids

    328 shares
    Share 131 Tweet 82
  • Tradition as a Guardrail

    326 shares
    Share 130 Tweet 82
  • Muslim Dialogue

    312 shares
    Share 125 Tweet 78
  • Objective Truth is Back

    306 shares
    Share 122 Tweet 77
  • What I’m Working On: Part 1 of 3: Inside-to-Out

    306 shares
    Share 122 Tweet 77
Facebook Twitter

© 2022 Site by 5BCreative

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Blog
    • Apologetics
    • Atheism
    • Bible
    • Devotion
    • Church
    • Evangelism
    • Hiddenness of God
    • Leadership
    • Philosophy
    • Religious Pluralism
    • Science and Faith
    • Theology
  • My Books
  • Video
  • Talks
  • Invite Me