Marriage – Spiritual Beliefs
Couples with high agreement on spiritual beliefs report much higher levels of marital satisfaction and closeness than those who don’t have this. Discuss these questions with your spouse or spouse-to-be:
– Is your spouse or spouse-to-be a believer in Jesus Christ? Obviously, it shouldn’t have got this far without your knowing this. As believers in Jesus, we should not be marrying an unbeliever (2nd Corinthians 6:14). But if our spouse is an unbeliever, we should act in such a way toward them that they would want to know Jesus (Matthew 5:16 & 1st Corinthians 7:12-14).
– What is your spouse’s family-of-origin’s spiritual tradition?
– How similar or dissimilar are your beliefs from your family-of-origin?
– How do your beliefs affect your values and the decisions you make?
– Do you and your spouse share a lot of the same spiritual beliefs and practices?
– How would your spiritual beliefs affect your child rearing?
– What actions would you take or not take in raising your children according to your spiritual beliefs? Amos 3: says, “How can two walk together unless they are agreed?”
– Do you pray with your spouse?
– Are you both connected to a spiritual home (a church) where you can grow and minister in?
– Is your relationship with Jesus the most important thing in both of your lives?
– Do you desire to make an atmosphere in which your spouse can pursue their relationship to God and His calling on their life?
– Do you believe that you and your spouse’s relationship to Jesus is better with the both of you being together than separately?
– How can you spur each other on to deepen your relationship to God?
– How do you both plan to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas (or the holidays that you celebrate)? Getting together with family and friends is a great way to start your own family traditions. Traditions have a way of bonding a couple and family together. Do you talk about the spiritual significance of these holidays?
Talk these things out. See where you’re similar and dissimilar?