‘Whenever they measure themselves by their own standards or compare themselves among themselves, they show how foolish they are.’ 2 Corinthians 10:12 ISV

Does this sound familiar? ‘You think your day was tough? I dealt with 30 customers before lunch!’ It’s easy to get sucked into ‘The Martyr’s Contest’, where your problems are worse than everybody else’s. And if you’re not careful, it can creep into your home.

Alicia Howe writes: ‘At day’s end when workplace frustrations are fresh and domestic tasks are looming, the setting is ripe… Spouses who desperately need each other to recognise their efforts, battle it out for the title of hardest-working person… We have a fundamental need for recognition from our spouses, and if we don’t get it, we devise strategies to evoke it.’ The problem is, when we compare ourselves we can damage our relationship. So with that in mind:

(1) Be alert for unspoken pleas for encouragement. When your mate expresses frustration, don’t counter with one-up-manship. Jesus said, ‘Listen… if you have ears!’ (Mark 4:9 GNT) What your mate needs is assurance that they can handle the problem.

(2) Express appreciation often. Imagine your mate wearing a sign that says, ‘Appreciate me!’ The fact that society is inclined towards assigning gender-specific roles doesn’t give you the right to take your partner for granted.

(3) Reinforce your spouse’s efforts to help. Don’t criticise the way they fold laundry or prepare the vegetables. When you do, you guarantee they won’t try to do it again. Think of a four-pronged fork:

(a) Be respectful of one another’s work.

(b) Recognise that while your jobs are different, they can both be difficult. (c)

Be sensitive, and flexible enough to help when it’s not ‘your job’ or ‘your turn’.

(d) Outlaw the complaint, ‘I’m tired.’ It’s counter-productive, and chances are you are both tired of hearing it!

SoulFood: Ecc 11:7–12:1, Ps 39:4–13, 2 Tim 4:6–8

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©