Most married couples begin their marriage with lots of loving words and actions. Over time life gets busy and there may be words of affirmation but the actions don’t match the words. It’s important to remember that you thoughts generate your emotions. You get excited about the things you think about the most. Our emotions go on to motivate our behavior. So you should not only pledge to honor your mate by thinking positively of him or her in our mind; but must also convey that honor through words and actions.
There’s a story about a husband who was known to be a man of few words. His wife longed for a little romantic conversation, but it never came. One evening when he was engrossed in his newspaper, she asked, “Steve, do you still love me?” He replied, “I said I did when we married, didn’t I? If anything ever changes, I’ll let you know.” Then he went back to reading his paper. His wife was sad because her need, like any of us, was to be loved by her best friend.
Steve may have thought all the right things. He may have chosen to focus on his wife’s good qualities. He may have cherished her as a pearl of untold value. He may even have felt that all this meant he was honoring her. But clearly honor wasn’t getting across to her as long as he kept his feelings bottled up inside. Love is not really honor until it is expressed and demonstrated. Those positive emotions for your mate that you hold in your heart must somehow find their way out through your mouth.
Better still, those thoughts take on even more meaning when they are expressed in action. Show your love not only in what you say, but also in what you do. I’m reminded of a letter that one young man wrote to his girlfriend across town back in the days before automobiles were common. “I would climb the highest mountain for you,” he gushed. “I would swim the deepest river just to be where you are. I would fight alligators, lions, and tigers to be by your side. I would walk through fire just for the privilege of gazing into your eyes. And by the way, I’ll see you Saturday night if it doesn’t rain.” The wimpiness of this young man’s intention yanked the rug out from under his high-sounding words, and all the love they expressed tumbled into meaningless rubble. The love you give your mate is not just in what you choose to think. It’s not even in what you feel about him or her. You show love in actions.
