nine psychology and to help her through her varying moods? 10. Do you tell her at least once a day that you love her, and act as though you mean it? 11. Do you give spiritual leader ship to your family? 12. Do you encourage your wife to talk things out? FOR WIVES 1. Do you try to make the home interesting, attractive, cheerful, a place of rest and relaxation? Do you devote as much thought and study to that as you would a job “ downtown” ? 2. Do you encourage your hus band to spend some time with his men friends? 3. Do you serve meals that are enticing in variety and attractive ness? 4. Do you handle household fi nances in a businesslike way? 5. Do you keep yourself attrac tive in appearance so that your husband may be proud to have everyone know you are his wife? 6. Are you a good sport: cheerful and uncomplaining, punctual, not nagging, not insisting on having your own way or the last word, not making a fuss over trifles or requiring your husband to solve minor problems that you should handle alone? 7. Do you bolster your husband’s ego, not comparing him unfavor ably with more successful men but making him feel that he is successful?
can often be helpful in uncover ing hidden motives and feelings. Here is the test we recommend to the young couple who asked for one. See how you rate! FOR HUSBANDS 1. Do you allow your wife an ap propriate amount o f the family income to spend as she chooses, without account? 2. Do you still “ court” her with an occasional gift of flowers: by remembrances of birthdays and anniversaries; by unexpected at tentions ? 3. Are you co-operative in han dling the children, taking your full share of responsibility and also backing her up? 4. Do you make it a point never to criticize her before others? 5. Do you share many of your rec reation hours with her? 6. Do you show interest in and encourage her to develop intel lectually? 7. Do you show as much consid eration for and courtesy to her relatives as you do your own? 8. Do you enter sympathetically into her plans for social activities, trying to do your full share as a host in your own home? And when you are a guest in the homes of others, do you try to make her appear to the best possible advan tage? 9. Do you make an effort to un derstand the peculiarities o f femi
our kids grow up in is all that important, then we’d better get with it. We don’t have that much time. We’d better evaluate our selves as parents and, if we find we need to improve (and who doesn’t ), we had better do some thing about it.” In this letter I could sense an honesty, a real desire to measure up to what God expects of par ents to whom He has given this most responsible of all tasks: bringing up a child to know, love and serve Him. Of course our first responsibil ity is to God. We have to see ourselves in His mirror, the Bible. In Jeremiah 17:9 (Amplified Bible) we read, “ The heart is de ceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally s ick !” When we realize this truth, we are far less prone to think of our marriage partner as being the “ one wrong” in any situation. When Christ comes into our lives, He gives us a new set of values. This is the basis o f true self-analysis. Accepting Christ is the founda tion for understanding our own human tendencies. As we take Him at His word and are truthful with God, we become truthful with ourselves. A good marriage has to have these elements of truth and hon esty. Periodic check-ups, rating sheets and self-evaluation tests,
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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