Protect Your Marriage

Extended family members can be parasites who continually fight against your values, mocking what you believe and pressuring you to live like they do.

The weaker partner in a marriage often will follow those who pressure them to accept their ways, bringing frustration on the one who desires to obey God. You may be married to a believer like yourself, but if that believer is a baby in the Lord or weak when it comes to family, then it is best to spend little time with extended family, unless the extended family is strong in the Lord.

Those who are believers need to spend little time with extended family who are not born again, to avoid the constant pressure from ungodly attitudes and ways.

It is one thing to visit one on one, with an unsaved family member for the purpose of bringing them the gospel, it is quite another to make them close friends with whom you spend all the holidays, birthdays and picnics on a continual basis.

Extended family who feel they have an ally with the weaker spouse, continually working to undermine the relationship by flattering the baby believer while negating and ridiculing the stronger believer. This seriously weakens the marriage relationship and places pressure to bear on the one who is sold out to Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:17

"17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."

1 Corinthians 15:33

"Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

It is clear that the more time we spend with unbelievers the more likely we are to become weaker in the Lord.  Those who do not love the Lord, have the ability to undermine all that we desire, making us feeble minded. 

Vacillating in our determination to walk with Christ, often is our response to extended family who hate our God. We become worried more about offending the family member than what God thinks of our behavior.

Proverbs 29:25

"The fear of man brings a snare: but whoso places his trust in the LORD shall be safe."

Matthew 10:37-39

"37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."

If we purpose to live for Christ, then extended family will shrink from us, if they do not, then it is probable that we are not living out our Christian life as boldly as we should. 

Luke 12:51-53

"51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Do we live to please men or do we live to please God?

If we want our marriages to be strong, make only Godly believers our best friends.