Repenting for Pride in a Marriage

Pride is everywhere.  We might try to escape pride but it seems to always find us in a way.  Pride is more than just being arrogant and self-centered.  It’s enmity towards God and fellowmen (Benson).  Pride is competitive in nature.  Humans tend to be competitive in nature as well.  I think that is why we are so acceptable to pride.
Pride can even be present in our marriages. I know for me I have a hard time admitting that I am wrong.  I often joke with my husband that we should do what I want or think because I am always right.  This is a big source of pride for me.  I don’t want to admit if I am wrong or if I have made a mistake.  We all have our weakness when it comes to pride, but the most important thing remember when it comes to pride is that we should always turn towards God and repentance.  I never realized the importance of repentance in a marriage.  I knew that we should repent to the things we do that might be wrong or offend God.  However, it never really occurred to me that we should repent for the ways we react during an argument with a spouse or for the irritation we might feel towards a spouse.  In the book “Drawing Heaven into Your Marriage” Goddard says “..any time we feel irritated with our spouses, that irritation is not an invitation to call out spouses to repentance but an invitation to call ourselves out to repentance.  We are irritated because of our own lack of faith and humility. “ (Goddard, pg. 77)  This was quote was a big eye opener to me.  I didn’t realize how when I am irritated with my husband I should actually be the one to repent.

Goddard said something else that really stuck me as well, he said “ when we have the “mindset of Christ” we see our spouses in a different way."  I have pondered this and I have concluded that our marriage is a partnership not just with each other but with Christ.  When we do wrong we repent to our Heavenly Father for forgiveness, so when we hurt or do something in our marriage that might cause tension we should also ask not just our spouse for repentance but our Heavenly father as well.  After all, Christ is a part of our relationship and all should be asked for forgiveness.  When we repent for our sins we are drawn closer to Christ, and we can feel his love for us.  When we repent we can also grow closer to our spouse and see them in a different light, like how they are seen through our Heavenly Fathers eyes.