The longer we are married, the easier it can be to view the ways our spouse is different from us as “bad” (moral language) or as a sign of incompatibility (threatening language). This tool is meant to help you see and celebrate the non-moral differences between you and your spouse.
The attributes listed are neither morally good nor morally bad. Neither side nor the center is necessarily “holy.” If you view these characteristics as moral qualities it will be harmful to your marriage. Your responsibility is to celebrate how God made your spouse and put the gospel on display finding ways to express loving unity in the midst of non-moral diversity.
“It is not your husband or wife’s choices that you are rejecting, but God’s… It is God who formed your spouse with his or her natural gifts and personality, and after he did, he stood back and declared your spouse ‘good.’ It is hurtful to your spouse when you disrespect her for things she did not choose or reject her for things she cannot change. Every difference is an opportunity to celebrate God’s creative artistry (p. 211).” Paul Tripp in What Did You Expect?
Instructions: Download and print the resource below. Write your initials where you believe you are on each spectrum. Write your spouse’s initials where you believe he/she is on each spectrum. Compare your assessment with your spouse’s assessment. Talk about:
(a) ways the two of you have viewed your differences as “bad” and this has caused conflict,
(b) ways that your differences compliment one another well, and
(c) how you have changed over the last few years.
To download the “Celebrating Our Non-Moral Differences” tool click here.
This resource is one part of the this upcoming seminar:
CREATING A GOSPEL-CENTERED MARRIAGE: FOUNDATIONS
Date: Saturday January 31, 2015
Time: 4:00 to 7:30 pm
Location: The Summit Church, Brier Creek South Venue
Address: 2415-107 Presidential Drive; Durham, NC 27703
Cost: Free