And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Ephesians 6:9
As I was counseling a woman, she wanted to share the problems in her marriage with me. I had to tell her what I’ve told many people through the years, “I can’t tell you what to do to change the person you’re married to. I can’t give you six steps, twelve steps or twenty-four steps.” Often what people are looking for when they come for counseling is for me to tell them what they can do in order to make their spouse straighten up. They’re willing to make sacrifices if it will pay off in an improved spouse. Inevitably, the wife wants to know what she can do to straighten out her husband, and her husband wants to know what he can do to straighten her out. And, of course, parents want to know what they can do to straighten their kids out, and the children want to know how to straighten out their parents.
I told that wife how to be a godly wife to her husband. I tell husbands what to do in order to be a godly husband. I tell parents what to do in order to be godly parents. When I counsel kids, I tell them what they need to do in order to be godly children.
The starting point is to give your life completely over to Jesus Christ and let him make you the person he wants you to be. He has given you control over no one else, but he is very clear about the self-control he expects you to develop. It’s miraculous what happens to our relationships when we seek to do what God has told us to do. Despite what others are doing, we are to act according to scripture and not simply react to the people and circumstances around us.
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