BEING FIT TO LIVE WITH

A woman married a man she didn’t love and apparently he didn’t love her. He made her work by
a set of rules and tasks to be done daily. She thought they were unreasonable demands. Her life was
made very miserable by trying to satisfy the whims of her husband. He died.
A few years later she married again. This time she married a man whom she did love and he
loved her in return. One day, while sorting through some old papers, she came across the strict set of
rules her former husband had written out for her to obey. Carefully she read them over. She stopped
and then realized that she was doing every single one of those things now and was very happy. The
difference? Love.
The world is crying out for those qualities of life and character that make husbands and wives
and families fit to live with. Being fit to live with is the key to success in nearly every walk of life. It
is obviously the key to having a good home. Someone has said, “When a home breaks up, rarely is
the cause infidelity” (although that often results). The cause usually stems from little things like
moodiness, irritability, jealousy, quarreling, self-pity, bad tempers, etc. In other words, attitudes
which make people unfit to live with.
Paul gives us the greatest insight into how we can be more fit to live with in 1 Corinthians 13.
He begins in chapter 12 by stating that he is going to show us a “a more excellent way.” Then he
shows us how beautiful our lives can be if we would fill them with genuine love. Love never fails
and our marriages will never fail--IF we fill them with the love that Paul describes so well: “Love
suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not
behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;” (1 Cor. 13:
4-5).
It is entirely true that we reap what we sow. May we all strive to be the kind of people that are
“fit to live with.” Sow love and trust and joy, and when the crops are gathered, this is what you will
reap.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: To allow an error to go unchallenged is to encourage it.
Have a great week!
Love ya,
Jesse