Red Flags: A 10 Day Devotional On RelationshipsShembull

Day 6: Red Flags in Marriage #2

Familiarity can be a dangerous thing. It’s easy to become familiar with the things that matter most: God, His Church, marriage, family…the list goes on. Truthfully, familiarity has killed more marriages than adultery. When we are familiar with something, we treat it as common. 

If we think we know everything about our spouse, we stop pursuing them with fresh curiosity and passion. When familiarity is taken too far, it causes married couples to become better roommates than life partners full of love, intimacy, and friendship. Let’s look at three red flags that come from familiarity:

1) You start to treat each other as common.

2) Neither of you have said “I love you” in a long time. 

3) Either of you begin to constantly compare one another or your relationships to other couples. 

If we’re not intentional, before we know it, we can drift away from the person we hold so dearly. You don’t often realize you’re drifting in the moment. That’s why with everything that’s important to us—our relationship with God, our marriages, our families, our callings—we must be daily engaged and attentive to the truth! 

Let’s never become too familiar with the one we love. Let’s look for ways to connect with them again today by asking new questions, planning a fun date night, or expressing your love and appreciation. If the red flags of familiarity are waving in your face, bring it before God and make a decision to live with your eyes wide open in wonder as you are reminded of all the things you love and appreciate about your marriage! 

Pray with me today: “Heavenly Father, help me to never have a spirit of familiarity toward you, my spouse, my family, or my life! Help me to live fully awake and in tune with your Spirit, and if I’ve drifted, show me the way back to your plan and purpose for my marriage. In Jesus’ name, amen.”