I Love My Wife

A few years ago, I was playing tennis with one of my good friends. We had a great match, got some great exercise and on a final changeover, he asked for my help. He needed help with a quick errand. It wasn't far so I agreed and off we went. What happened next is something I will never forget as long as I am alive...

We were nearing the rendezvous (I think he was buying a car??) when my friend opened his tennis bag. I looked down to find a suprising discovery. CASH! and lots of it!! I don't know that I have ever seen so much money...17,000 dollars total.

I asked the all-important question (WHY?), which led to his answer, an answer that soaked my heart with grief. My friend explained about his marriage how conflict had taken the reigns. He seemed convinced that it would likely soon end in divorce. He said that he had been keeping his money stashed away from his wife. I gently pressed, and found out that he had been hiding cash from his wife for about 2 and a half years!

"If we do get a divorce Nathan, in North Carolina the woman gets EVERYTHING."

What came out of MY mouth was purely reactive and spontaneous. It was the first and only thought that came to my mind...

"IF I CAN'T HAVE MY WIFE, I DON'T WANT MY MONEY."

I didn't feel like i was being judgemental, just honest and genuine...I can't live without her. She is everything I am not and everything I want to be. She is beauty, inside and out. As men, we must truly "leave our father and mother, and cling to our wives" (Eph 5:31). We must for the same reason Jesus left his father for His bride, the Church. We must love and serve and sacrifice for our wives no matter what the cost. And I am not talking about just money, no, our very lives! Oh that my wife might be cherished above my own life! She is worth it...worth it all!

For Christ,

Nathan Smith