I don't know whether it is because I have been a bit stressed at work recently, or the lack of sleep, or just eating too much crap on the weekend (it was probably a combination of all of the above), but I came down with yucky cold/flu symptoms today and I subsequently stayed at home and kept the germies to myself - those 'I have the flu - pass it on campaigns' have been drummed into me pretty well. :D
So after sleeping for most of the day, I got out of bed and had lunch with my old friend Oprah. What I found interesting about today's show was that Seal and Heidi Klum were on and they were talking about their marriage. Oprah asked them questions about their married life and because they seemed to be very much in love after four years together (which is like a lifetime for celebrities), she asked them what the secret to their good marriage was.
Seal replied saying something along the lines of 'We have always believed that we should be putting each other first in the marriage, then the children, then our work'. When he said this, Oprah and the rest of the audience were like WHOA! And Oprah then said something like 'you should be some kind of teacher to all the other men in the world', and then they gave Seal some of his childhood photos in a photo album from times when he was with his foster family (which he explained were his only really happy times growing up because he came from a broken family), and then they reunited him with his foster sister (who he had not seen for 40 years), and then they embraced, and then the tears flowed, and then everyone got emotional and in the end it was all very good day-time television.
But back to the point... What Seal said about marriage - I believe - is the Biblical view of marriage (you just need to add God as the very first priority - before the wife / husband). I'm not saying by any means that Seal is a Christian (cos he isn't, otherwise there'd be no need to add God into the hierarchy cos He would be there already), but I believe that the reason why what he said came as some kind of revelation to Oprah, the studio audience, and probably all the people watching at home, was because the world teaches us something completely different - the doctrine of self - and as a result, people go into marriage thinking they will get something out of it, rather than going into a marriage with the mindset to put something in and serve the other person.
The reason why he received an applause from Oprah and the audience after he said it was not only because it was Oprah, where the audience clap at the drop of a hat, but because it just makes sense. If you are both in a marriage with the idea of serving each other, of course the marriage will be a happy one. If you are trying really hard to serve the other person all the time, of course they are going to happier and therefore more likely to do the same for yourself. Likewise, if all you think about is the children or work, then of course the other person is going to feel neglected and a strain will result in the bond between man and wife. It's not rocket science.
This can definitely work for a non-Christian couple too - the only stickler is that a non-Christian couple, if they can't be bothered trying any more, can always opt for a divorce (which they so often do) - whereas the Christian couple will ask God for more help and never even contemplate the notion of a divorce - They're in it for life. Hehe sounds pretty daunting, but if the marriage is as God planned it to be - life will just not be long enough!
So after sleeping for most of the day, I got out of bed and had lunch with my old friend Oprah. What I found interesting about today's show was that Seal and Heidi Klum were on and they were talking about their marriage. Oprah asked them questions about their married life and because they seemed to be very much in love after four years together (which is like a lifetime for celebrities), she asked them what the secret to their good marriage was.Seal replied saying something along the lines of 'We have always believed that we should be putting each other first in the marriage, then the children, then our work'. When he said this, Oprah and the rest of the audience were like WHOA! And Oprah then said something like 'you should be some kind of teacher to all the other men in the world', and then they gave Seal some of his childhood photos in a photo album from times when he was with his foster family (which he explained were his only really happy times growing up because he came from a broken family), and then they reunited him with his foster sister (who he had not seen for 40 years), and then they embraced, and then the tears flowed, and then everyone got emotional and in the end it was all very good day-time television.
But back to the point... What Seal said about marriage - I believe - is the Biblical view of marriage (you just need to add God as the very first priority - before the wife / husband). I'm not saying by any means that Seal is a Christian (cos he isn't, otherwise there'd be no need to add God into the hierarchy cos He would be there already), but I believe that the reason why what he said came as some kind of revelation to Oprah, the studio audience, and probably all the people watching at home, was because the world teaches us something completely different - the doctrine of self - and as a result, people go into marriage thinking they will get something out of it, rather than going into a marriage with the mindset to put something in and serve the other person.
The reason why he received an applause from Oprah and the audience after he said it was not only because it was Oprah, where the audience clap at the drop of a hat, but because it just makes sense. If you are both in a marriage with the idea of serving each other, of course the marriage will be a happy one. If you are trying really hard to serve the other person all the time, of course they are going to happier and therefore more likely to do the same for yourself. Likewise, if all you think about is the children or work, then of course the other person is going to feel neglected and a strain will result in the bond between man and wife. It's not rocket science.
This can definitely work for a non-Christian couple too - the only stickler is that a non-Christian couple, if they can't be bothered trying any more, can always opt for a divorce (which they so often do) - whereas the Christian couple will ask God for more help and never even contemplate the notion of a divorce - They're in it for life. Hehe sounds pretty daunting, but if the marriage is as God planned it to be - life will just not be long enough!
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