Due Benevolence
1 Corinthians 7:3
“Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.”
One of the greatest lies that Satan tells a married person is that their body belongs to themselves. Quite often a married person will say, “This is my body and I have the right to do with it what I want to do.” This is a person who has believed the lie of Satan. We must always remember that Satan wants to destroy our marriages. Because his desire is to destroy marriages, he will do everything in his power to get married people to believe his lies.
In the verse above God deals with married couples. The subject that is being taught is a subject that if followed will bring happiness in marriage. God said that the husband and wife are to render to each other “due benevolence.” The word “benevolence” means, “to do good, or an act of kindness.” In other words, God is teaching married people that in order to be happy each must live their life to do good and be kind to their spouse.
Married people must realize that after they got married, their body no longer belongs to them. When you got married your body became the property of your spouse. That means you have no right to hold back from your spouse the “benevolence” that they desire. Far too many married couples withhold the benevolence from their spouse only to hurt the marriage. I believe if you will read the verses that follow the verse above, you will understand what I am talking about. According to the verse above, a married person owes their spouse the benevolence that these verses are talking about.
Let me take this one step further. A married person owes it to their spouse to be kind to them. Notice in the verse above that God used the words “due benevolence.” In other words, it is a debt you are to pay to your spouse. Married couples owe kindness to each other. Being kind to your spouse is a debt you owe them. Some of the kindnesses that ought to be paid in a marriage are: opening the door for the lady, saying “Thank you” to each other for kindnesses that are done, making a special meal for your spouse, being extra kind to your spouse when they are having a tough day, etc. Of course, there is no way that I can deal with all the ways of how we ought to be kind to each other in this short devotional. Married couples simply need to learn to live their daily lives being kind to each other.
If you are married, you owe it to your spouse to give them the “due benevolence” that belongs to them. Make it one of your daily duties to be kind to your spouse. Sit down and write out some ways that you can be kind to your spouse. Then, take one thing from that list each day and be kind to them. If spouses will daily live their lives to be kind to each other, then I believe they will find happiness in marriage.
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