Have you ever been guilty of making your spouse feel bad because of something that they did or didn’t do? Of course you have. We all have. We try to manipulate each other by using guilt as a constant reminder of how our spouse has failed us. Once we have destroyed one an others confidence, we can swoop in and finally get what we want. Sounds destructive doesn’t it? Guilt is a powerful and destructive emotion that can cause a healthy marriage to fall a part. It is a prison built with thick bars of unhealthy expectations.
So how do we break out of these prisons? It begins and ends with Jesus and the finished work of the cross. You see, this tactic of manipulation and guilt is nothing new. A matter of fact, we have an enemy that has been using this tactic all of our lives. He reminds us daily of our short comings and our failures. He even tries to speak to us daily about how we are not worthy to live a life of freedom, but then came Jesus.
When we look to Jesus one can’t help but see an example of unconditional love. A love that tears down the prison of guilt. A love that is passionately pursuing us even in our failures. It’s a love that doesn’t demand but gives freely over and over again. I encourage you today to gain a new perspective. Understand that your spouse is precious to God so much so that Jesus died on the cross for their freedom. Who are we to try to leverage a distorted version of love to manipulate them back into bondage.