The Three-Fold Cord

Genesis 2
18. And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him..."
21. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
NKJV
Ecclesiastes 4
12. Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
NKJV

Marriage is always a union of three. We can see this by looking at the marriages around us. There is always a husband, a wife and a third party. God made it to be so, and God's idea was that the threefold cord would always be husband, wife and God. That would make for the kind of success in marriage that God desires.

But many people do not take seriously this matter of marriage being a threefold cord: husband, wife and God. When you leave out this vital ingredient, many things creep in and become the third party, which are really enemies of marriage.

One of these, we have already talked about in this series, is addiction. There is nothing so potentially destructive to the marriage bond as that.

Let us remind ourselves of the most glaring kinds of addictions: drugs/alcohol, pornography, sleeping around with others, gambling, shopping/spending, unbridled ambition, and the list goes on.

Again, do not marry an addict. As a marriage partner, you cannot give that person the help they need, no matter how much they assure you that you can.

---

Prayer:
Father, help me, that I will choose my partner with the wisdom that You provide, so that we can both invite You to partner with us in this wonderful adventure of marriage,
In Jesus' name,
Amen.

---

NKJV means New King James Version: Thomas Nelson Publishers
LB refers to The Living Bible: Tyndale House Publishers

---