I love to tell Michelle my thoughts and rightfully so.  Michelle is the closest person to me on earth.   She is not only my wife, she is my best friend.  Over twenty two years of marriage we have learned about each other in so many different ways.  When Michelle shares what’s on her mind I can hear her heart speaking loudly and so can she when I share my thoughts.

“ OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART THE MOUTH SPEAKS”  Matthew 12:34.  Thoughts enter the mind and travels to the heart and makes an exit through the mouth.  If one or both spouses shut down and choose not to speak their minds, the heart remains unknown and the marriage relationship faces hinderances.  When Beth and Arthur faced the biggest hurdle in their marriage relationship, Beth chose to remain quiet and Arthur thought all was well.  In marriage counseling, Arthur was surprised at the gage of their relationship in Beth’s eyes.  Arthur thought things were better when Beth felt they were far from each other emotionally.

The mind has more power than we realize at times.  God gave us the gift of thinking but orders us to think positive thoughts and take captive of negative thoughts.  Married couples are not exempt from this command.  God wants us to enjoy whatever he creates and gives us the power to renew our thoughts when negative ones enter our minds.  We cannot stop negative thoughts from visiting our minds but we can make them visitors.  A spouse that entertains negative thoughts brings negative behaviors to the marriage relationship while a spouse majoring on positive thoughts creates an atmosphere of harmony in the marriage relationship.  There are two major effects that the mind has on marriages and it depends on the choice from these two influences…..

The World’s Mind

Hollywood is a perfect example of a fairytale marriage.  Men and women get together and decide to tie the knot on a trial basis.  There is no decision to LOVE LIKE CHRIST LOVES or SUBMIT AS UNTO CHRIST.  The mind of worldly husbands and wives are fixed on what they can get out of the marriage relationship, putting self at the top of the list of desires in getting married.  Some agree to get married with a prenuptial agreement as the guide for there relationships.  These marriages do not have  a solid marital foundation in Christ and tend to crumble at the drop of a dime.

Husbands and wives with a worldly mindset are deceived into thinking that marriage is just another thing to do, not understanding the truth that marriage was created by God to reflect Christ.  A marriage in God’s image is far from their minds and these marriages tend to get knocked out by a tiny blow.  Money, fame, and the like drive these marriages leaving little to know room for REAL LOVE.  The deception is that love gets, not gives.  But real love gives, not get.  When both husband and wife have a mind of giving love and respect to each other they both end up geting love and respect from each other.  This is what drives a great marriage.

The Mind Of Christ

Jesus Christ is the son of the creator of marriage.  A husband or wife with a mind that follows the ways of Christ experience a marriage relationship like no other.  They have the mindset that they are getting married for life and set the boundaries in place to make it happen.  These marriages are no fairytale.  There is no trial and error thinking when joined in Holy matrimony.  The minds of such husband and wife leads them to desiring to give love and respect to each other and in turn receive that love and respect from each other.

REAL LOVE is shown because they refuse to put self first by putting each other first in the relationship.  Their mindset is that God created marriage to reflect Christ so they do what God says in the marriage to make that happen.  It is in the decision to reflect Christlike behaviors toward each other that drives the engine of a marriage with LOVE, JOY, PEACE and HARMONY.  A marriage that never fails is led by husbands and wives thinking like Christ thinks.  These husbands and wives understand the truth of LOVING LIKE CHRIST LOVES THE CHURCH and SUBMITTING AS UNTO CHRIST to have a marriage made in Heaven.

Michelle and I continue to pray for every married couple to see the truth that only a life surrendered to Christ by accepting Him as Lord and Savior of your life and ultimately of your marriage will lead to a great marriage that last a lifetime.  Our encouragement is that every husband and wife will choose to think like Christ as they travel along their marriage journey to having a great and well deserved beautiful marriage relationship.  Choose to renew your minds to refuse to entertain worldly, negative thoughts and replace it with entertaining Christlike thoughts.  “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” Philippians 4:8.  

About The Author

Carim Hyatt was born and raised partially in Jamaica, West Indies.  He is one of seven children from the Hyatt family and has grown into a great man of God.  Carim had the luxury of seeing his grandparents model a Christian family life while portraying a marriage in God’s image.  Carim had his mother in his life also and learned a great deal about values and wisdom.

Carim’s passion is marriage and family. He and his wife Michelle, are hosts of MARRIAGE IN A MINUTE, a radio talk show reaching all over the world.   He has authored two books, The importance of Salvation and Staying Married Becoming One Flesh.  Carim’s third book, PURITY IN PREPARATION FOR MARRIAGE is soon to be released.  His journey has taken him from Insurance adjuster to minister through writing and public speaking.  Carim leads men’s ministries, married couples lifegroups, praise and worship along with many other areas of ministry as God has led him.  Carim and his beautiful wife Michelle have appeared on Television programs , namely TBN, speaking about marriage and family.  He is a great motivator, mentor and loves the Lord with all his heart.  His passion is to see every marriage go the long haul while being molded into God’s image

Join Carim on this great journey as He reaches the unsaved for Christ while continuing to encourage marriages and families.

Read all our marriage articles on Jamaicans.com

Visit the Marriage Vantage Point website for great resources to help you and your spouse.

Listen to our weekly podcasts.

Photo – Deposit Photos