What If This One Thing Could Save Your Marriage?

If affection could sanctify your marriage and maybe even save it, would you give it?

Affection is needed in your marriage.  It’s the glue.  It’s the duct tape that weathers every weather, whether you’re the giver or the receiver.  It’s the tall drink of water after a 100 burpee workout. 

Dictionary Definition of Affection: (noun) fond attachment, devotion, or love.

But get this!  It comes from the root word, “affect,” which is a verb and verbs call for action.

Dictionary Definition of Affect: (verb) to act on; produce an effect or change in; to impress the mind or move the feeling of.

Putting aside W.H. Auden’s use of H E double hockey sticks in the prior couplet, and his rather stereotypical life style of male, 1950’s Playwrights, his very quotable quote from The More Loving One is incredibly beautiful and biblical and needs to be framed in burlap with old mason jars full of antique eyeglasses placed beside it.

That’s just said just right.

As with all love poetry, he ripped it off from Paul’s love chapter in First Corinthians 13…

“Love…keeps no record of wrongs.”

Where in the Christmas pudding did we get the idea that the giving and taking of affection involved math?  Keeping a record is the very act of equationing and graphing and summifying which is math.  Keeping a record is why I hated my statistics class in college (Failed it.  Took it again. Nailed it.)  The whole unaffectionate notion that we are keeping a running tally of how he has affected us so far that day in that way or in that issue must now affect how affectionate you chose to be in return?  

That’s love math.  Love math is an affection-killer.  Love math is a marriage-killer.  If the losing of love math could sanctify(meaning to purify and make free from sin), or maybe even save your marriage, would you give it?  Would you whole-heartedly set aside your equations and affect him with your affection? 

You are already broken?  Dear sister, every time Jesus gives you a call to obey Him, He is speaking to your future.  All He says to your past is, “go and sin no more.”  Every time you open your Bible it is to remind you that His plan is to give you a FUTURE AND A HOPE. 

Step into this new day with no brain calculator running your love math receipt.  You know all those times you’ve handed the love math receipt to your husband?  Those days are gone. 

Am I speaking too metaphorically?  I’m sorry.  I read a lot of poetry.  This all means love and give and affect him and lift his head and don’t grow weary of doing good and never give only so he will give back and don’t give like a martyr and love him and love him and love him and pour and pour and run over the affection. 

Affect his day with your affection.  Be the more loving one and don’t mind at all when you are.