The Idol of Perfect Marriage

All of us enter marriage with a 'picture' in our heads of what it should look like. Maybe it is a scene where we drink coffee smiling on a Sunday morning, with obedient kids and a spouse who always says the right thing. We long for a beautiful and peaceful home, and honestly, that is a very good and legitimate desire. But there is a very subtle and dangerous trap hidden right behind that beautiful picture.

The problem begins because good desires become destructive when we turn them into absolute demands. An idol is not just a golden statue; an idol is anything we elevate above God. Sometimes, without realizing it, we take the beautiful gift of family and sit it on God's throne. We start to believe: 'I can only feel fulfilled and at peace if my marriage is picture-perfect.'

When we do this, our spouse stops being our life partner and we demand that they be our savior. And here is the harsh reality: human beings make terrible gods. If my inner peace absolutely depends on my wife always being in a good mood or my husband being a flawless romantic, I am condemning them to fail and condemning my heart to chronic disappointment.