IF YOUR HUSBAND HAS A DIFFERENT FAITH

The Bible strongly counsels us against marrying someone with a different religious faith.  (Deuteronomy 7:3, 4;  1 Corinthians 7:39)  It may be, however, that you learned the truth from the Bible after your marriage but your husband did not.  What then? Of course, the marriage vows still hold.  (1 Corinthians 7:10) The Bible emphasizes the permanence of the marriage bond and encourages married people to work out  their differences rather than to run away from them.  (Ephesians 5:28-31; Titus 2:4, 5) What, though, if your husband strongly objects to your practicing the religion of the Bible?  He may try to hinder you from going to congregation meetings, or he may say that he does not want his wife to go from house to house, talking about religion.  What will you do? 

Ask yourself, 'Why does my husband feel the way he does?' (Proverbs 16:20, 23) If he does not really understand what you are doing, he may worry about you. Or he may be under pressure from relatives because you no longer share in certain customs that are important to them.  "Alone in the house, I feel deserted," said one husband.  This man felt that he was losing his wife to a religion. Yet pride kept him from admitting that he was lonely.  Your husband may need the reassurance that your love for Jehovah does not  mean that you now love your husband less than you did in the past. Be sure to spend time with him.

However, something even more important must be considered if you are going to deal with the situation wisely.  God's Word urges wives:  "Be in subjection to your husbands, as it is becoming in the Lord."  (Colossians 3:18) Thus, it cautions against a spirit of independence. In addition, by saying "as it is becoming in the Lord," this scripture indicates that subjection to one's husband should also take into consideration subjection to the Lord.  There has to be a balance.  



Next time: Conclusion of: IF YOUR HUSBAND HAS A DIFFERENT FAITH

From the book: THE SECRET OF FAMILY HAPPINESS, 1996