I know my little blessings are trying to show off when I hear the tell tell sounds of “Look at me mommy. Watch this. Mommy, did you see me “. They are quick to brag about all the good they do, eager for the praise they know will follow.
Is there room in our adult lives for that; can we brag? When are we -as adults- praised, admired or appreciated? There is a fine line to walk here for sure.
And if that wasn’t enough to ponder, What role does the need for praise, admiration and appreciation play in a biblical Marriage?
Can love brag? Just writing that seems strange…
As we continue dissecting 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 determined to try to do Marriage God’s way depending on a Grace that runs 3 ways. We come face to face with some hard Verbs.
Click through the links To go back in the series: so far we’ve seen Patience, Kindness, Jealousy, Bragging, Arrogance, Disrespect or Acting unbecoming in Marriage, Selfishness in Marriage, Anger in Marriage, Evil Thoughts in Marriage, Rejoicing In Marriage and Bearing All Things, Believing All Things, Hoping All things and Enduring All things in a Biblical Marriage.
What does Paul mean when he says Love Does Not Brag?
The way brag is used in the Greek here means:
Love does not excessively embellish to put itself on the center stage to make a point.
So, showing love to without bragging means I must let the facts speak for themselves.
Doesn’t seem challenging… Except that it is.
If the facts have to speak for themselves I fear my husband will miss things I need to be appreciated about. Sorry if that’s too honest, but that’s my hearts fear.
Do you need some encouragement to keep pressing into that Daily Commitment? We could all use a community to help us in Reclaiming Hope & Joy in our marriages!
We just finished a 31 day Series to help us Reclaim Hope & Joy in Marriage by Intentionally Investing in our Biblical Wifehood.
Get the articles Free in this downloadable e-Book.
Bragging is a tool of Manipulation that I know well.
- I know how to place tears to motivate compassion. \It is easy to embellish a story about my day to manipulate pity or praise.
- Sometimes I feel like those are the only ways to get the admiration or appreciation I need from him.
Showing love without bragging is speaking truth and accepting the results it produces.
As I am learning to do this, God is shining a light on this need I have for approval (I did not see that coming).
You see, I was seeking approval from hubby (and others) and keeping myself busy to get it… Creating Anxiety in my life that has been sabotaging my health.
God reminded me that I need to live for Him “an audience of one” and come to Him alone for approval.
Ultimately, I need to be more concerned with What God thinks of me than what others think of me.
In that way, there is no room in love to brag. I put all my trust in God to fill my needs. It is a great relieve to my husband – as he could never meet all those needs in me.
And I find that God meets these needs so much better than any person ever could. I just had to let go of my expectation that hubby should meet it… to let God step in and be Amazing!
Challenge Time:
Pick 1 area -where you are seeking your husbands approval -that you should be taking to God instead.
Begin praying that God will shine His light every time you step out of His will in this way.
As you begin taking this need to God, watch as He meets it in extraordinary ways! God is truly able to do far exceedingly abundantly beyond all we could ever ask for or imagine.
Can I pray for you as you take on this challenge? Comment below “Challenge Accepted” to be added to my prayer list.
This is an except from a 9 week Study Finding Hope and Joy in my Marriage – Wives only.
RSVP To Join us this month as we dig in.
This is a 9 Week study on Biblical Wifehood where we will talk about:
- Love
- Forgiveness
- Desires Vs. Preferences
- My Mouth
- Appreciation & Admiration
- The Leader
- Understanding Men
- Respect
- My Priorities
This class will include
- 10 video lessons
- You can watch live or when you have time
- 9 weeks of personal study
- 5 days each week that should take 10-15 minutes
- A private Facebook Group to discuss the homework and talk through the weekly challenges
- 45 Days of Prayer prompts
By standing together in Prayer we have more power over the enemy than when we hide and pretend everything is “Fine”.
Lets fight back together!
in HIM,
I definitely do not manipulate. I want comments to be GENUINE!
Yes, it’s only valuable if it’s Genuine! Thanks for the comment Gigi!
Challenge accepted
Great Shawn! praying now!