Pursue Righteousness and Kindness - Crosswalk Couples Devotional - October 1
Crosswalk Couples Devotional
Audio By Carbonatix
By Michelle S. Lazurek, Crosswalk.com
Pursue Righteousness and Kindness
By: Michelle Lazurek
"Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor." Proverbs 21:21
It was one of those days. Amid a frustrating day, my husband came home and started a conversation. His questions irked me to the point where we got into a fight. Insults were hurled, accusations flew, and words were wielded like swords. Although I was right, I knew someone had to keep the peace. He went to work, and I took some time to cool off.
The Holy Spirit stirred my soul as I went to the grocery store and came out with a bag of groceries. As I walked into the grocery store half an hour before, I had spied a bag of hard rolls. They're my husband's favorite kind of hard rolls. They weren't on my list, so I passed them in pursuit of my other items. When I went to the car to drop off the bags and go home, the Holy Spirit nudged my soul to go back in and buy the hard rolls. It was a small gesture, but I had to take time out of my schedule to go back and buy the hard rolls.
Later, when he got home from work, I had dinner prepared for him with one of the rolls. My husband was surprised and remarked that he had seen them in the store the other day and was craving one, but he hadn't had time to go back. It meant a lot to him that I returned to buy them.
I had every right to hold a grudge. What he had said during the fight hurt my feelings, and the way he had treated me was far from kind. Yet, I knew that was not a good way to respond. Even when my husband doesn't treat me the way I would like him to, it is not right for me to react with unkindness.
On the contrary, the above verse reminds me that whenever I pursue kindness and do the right thing even when I don't have to, God promises that I will find life, righteousness, and honor. Even when my husband doesn't honor me in the way I'd like, I am assured that God will honor me in both my personal and professional life.
Part of my marriage vows to my husband were to honor him. Not only am I supposed to love and cherish him, but I'm also supposed to honor him. This means communicating in his love language and loving him appropriately, even when he doesn't deserve it. Although this is easier said than done in some situations, the more I gravitated toward reacting with a righteous response, the more life and righteousness came to me.
As the Holy Spirit transforms our minds and hearts, we can respond with kindness and righteousness simply because it's the right thing to do, not because we have merely resisted the temptation to act as the enemy would want us to act. When I choose to honor my husband and receive righteousness and kindness, God promises to respond to me in the same way.
In your marriage relationship, do you pursue kindness and righteousness? Do you find you are less than kind in your words and deeds? When you find you have acted in an ungodly manner, do you correct your behavior, or do you continue with it? Does the Holy Spirit stir your soul and remind you of the best way to behave in that situation?
No matter how your husband responds, you must always respond the way God would want you to. When your husband is unkind, neglectful, or dishonoring, you should still respond in kindness and righteousness. When we choose righteousness and kindness over the world's response, God promises we will find and have life abundantly.
Let us be a spouse who pursues both kindness and righteousness. Even in difficult situations when it is not only appropriate but even applauded to act with unkindness and unrighteousness, God wants us to choose to be kind. Remind us, Father, that when we choose the correct response over our temptation to sin, you promise to give us life, honor, and righteousness. Amen.
Michelle S. Lazurek is a multi-genre award-winning author, speaker, pastor's wife, and mother. She is a literary agent for Wordwise Media Services and host of The Spritual Reset Podcast. Her new children’s book Hall of Faith encourages kids to understand God can be trusted. When not working, she enjoys sipping a Starbucks latte, collecting 80s memorabilia, and spending time with her family and her crazy dog. For more info, please visit her website www.michellelazurek.
Related Resource: 3 Simple Ways to Feed Your Spouse More Praise
How often do you intentionally stop to praise your spouse? To recognize and affirm their character or actions? Many of us probably cringe at answering these questions because we know we could do better! If you struggle to feed your spouse praise regularly, this episode is for you. Listen in as we share some practical steps we all can take to criticize less and affirm and build up our spouse more. If this episode helps your marriage, be sure to subscribe to Team Us on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode.
