The Best Way to Protect Your Marriage

In Proverbs 5, the wisest man (Solomon) to ever live gathers his boys around him for a ‘come to Jesus’ talk. He tells them about life, love, and women. As we listen in to this incredible advice, Solomon warns his sons about the seduction and ultimate destruction that lies in wait for those who commit adultery. He paints a vivid picture of how they will despise themselves in old age if they fall for the seduction of another woman.

Then after scaring the daylights out of them, he gives his sons the plan on how best to protect their marriage. It’s incredibly instructive for us all these thousands of years later, because human nature remains the same. Here’s what he tells them in Proverbs 5:18, “May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.” He’s instructing his sons to rejoice in their wives, to enjoy their marriages, to delight in their spouses. Why? Because Solomon knows a timeless truth that can still help marriages today: the best way to protect your marriage is to enjoy your marriage. Fun isn’t optional in marriage. Fun isn’t extra. Fun is essential. When you stop having fun in your marriage, there’s a break that begins to separate you and your spouse, and other things can begin to crowd in and seduce you away from your first vows. 

When we’re newly married, having fun, spending time together, enjoying a full and vibrant sexual relationship, is effortless. There’s this beautiful space with you and your spouse and nothing else gets in. But as you go on in life, more and more things are going to try and crowd into your space. You’re going to have demands from a career that you want to be successful at. If you have a healthy sex life, you’re going to have lots of kids, and those kids need to be raised. Before you know it, everything begins to crowd into your space and begins to compete with your spouse for your affections. At that point, enjoying life with your spouse is no longer effortless. It takes effort. It takes discipline. You have to be serious about it.

Work hard, enjoy your marriage, and protect it for years to come.