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00:01 Can the Bible save a marriage that’s in danger? 00:05 The following interviews, while very frank, 00:08 will show the exceeding value of God’s own Word, the Bible, 00:13 to preserve that divine union. 00:15 Almost from the start of the marriage, 00:17 it was not running smoothly, to say the least. 00:22 We were fighting constantly. 00:25 Even the smallest things we would argue over, 00:30 and it would just get blown out of proportion. 00:33 We couldn’t communicate without it being an argument. 00:37 Steadily the arguments increased 00:40 in frequency and intensity. 00:43 And you think, ‘Well, I’m not happy here,’ 00:47 and that’s when I threatened to leave. 00:50 Sometimes I felt like completely giving up on the marriage. 00:55 There would be arguments where you’d be packing the bags 00:57 and saying you’d wished you’d never done it. 00:59 And ultimately it would end in insults. 01:01 Jehovah was missing in our marriage, 01:04 and that was the essential part of making our marriage work. 01:08 A brother and sister that we’d known for a long time 01:12 initially offered us a Bible study. 01:15 They invited us to their Family Worship evening 01:18 to have dinner and to do The Watchtower with them, 01:20 which we accepted. 01:22 The Family Worship arrangement helped 01:25 because it wasn’t just Bible principles that you read about, 01:28 but we saw them being applied in this couple’s life. 01:32 And so all of a sudden, 01:34 I could see the cause and effect of a Bible principle. 01:38 But the impact that it was having was tremendous 01:42 because we could see how to apply a Bible principle and make it work. 01:46 I think it took a long time before things got better, honestly, 01:50 but the turning point was coming back to Jehovah. 01:54 There were many principles that all of a sudden 01:56 were like little light bulbs going off, 01:59 such as Jesus at John 13:34 02:01 when he recommended his example. 02:04 Ephesians 5:33 02:07 eventually had an impact on me, 02:09 because there were articles that pointed out 02:11 how important it is for a husband to feel respected by his wife, 02:15 and I don’t think I’d ever really appreciated that before. 02:18 I just viewed it as a mechanical process: 02:20 He’s the head; he needs to have respect from his wife. 02:24 I didn’t recognize that it’s important for a husband to feel respected 02:28 to be able to take on his role as head. 02:33 We’re so thankful to Jehovah for his patience. 02:37 The Bible principles were always there; 02:39 we just weren’t making application of them. 02:41 As soon as we started to make application, 02:43 our marriage did a complete turnaround. 02:47 Where we are now is totally different. 02:49 The relationship that we have is what we wanted at the start 02:53 but didn’t know how to get. 02:55 It’s just that application of Bible principles 02:57 that has made it possible. 03:05 We were 17, actually, when we met and 20 when we got married. 03:09 Life was good for Tony and me; we were happy. 03:13 But then I got into another business 03:16 that became the main focus in my life. 03:19 It had quite a dramatic effect on our spirituality. 03:22 We went through a time when we hardly saw each other, 03:26 so there was a great deal of time that we spent apart. 03:29 Bible principles were ones that weren’t brought into our life. 03:34 At that time, Bible reading was out of the picture. 03:39 I started delving into viewing things 03:42 that were really, really inappropriate. 03:45 And then it eventually happened 03:49 where I didn’t really care what I viewed, 03:51 and I didn’t think about the consequences 03:55 and of the unhappiness that it would cause. 03:59 It made me feel very, extremely, unloved. 04:04 I felt very angry about his behavior. 04:08 I felt a lot of resentment towards him, a lot of bitterness. 04:11 We ended up in separation, to begin with. 04:15 I left Tony; I walked away from him. 04:17 I walked away from the marriage, walked away from the business 04:20 and, eventually, ended up unscripturally divorcing Tony. 04:25 The elders who were assisting me 04:30 helped me to see exactly how Jehovah felt 04:33 about what I’d been doing 04:35 and where my relationship was with him, and it was quite poor. 04:40 I felt that because of the betrayal that I had experienced, 04:43 I did not have a problem with my conscience at all in going through the divorce. 04:47 It seemed the logical and best way for me to go. 04:50 With my Bible reading, 04:52 I got to see Amos 5:15. 04:55 It really had an effect on me 04:57 because I needed to “hate what is bad, and love what is good.” 05:00 One scripture that affected me 05:02 was from Malachi about how Jehovah felt about divorce. 05:06 Altogether, it took us 15 years before we got together again. 05:10 I was just enjoying a day out in the field midweek, 05:14 and I got home in mid-afternoon. 05:18 And all of a sudden, my mobile phone rang, 05:21 and I heard Rhonda’s voice. 05:25 What a delight it was that she was inviting me 05:27 to accompany her for a cup of coffee somewhere 05:31 to talk about things! 05:36 If I hadn’t started having a Scriptural intake 05:39 and learning to love God’s Word, 05:42 my life wouldn’t have changed. 05:45 Without the Bible, Tony and I would not be together. 05:48 The marriage would never ever have reconciled. 05:51 We have become best friends, so we really enjoy 05:54 being in each other’s company and serving Jehovah together. 05:58 Our married life now has certainly benefited 06:01 by both of us seeing how beneficial the Scriptures are. 06:06 Tony and I are now very much a couple, 06:08 and so no matter what we deal with, it’s us together. 06:12 When situations like these arise, 06:15 it’s not just our marriage that’s affected. 06:18 Our relationship with Jehovah is on the line! 06:22 Our dear sister, for example, 06:24 reached an emotional point where she felt the only solution 06:27 was an unscriptural divorce. 06:30 As we make our decisions in marriage, 06:32 Jehovah’s feelings on the subject, found at Malachi 2:16, 06:37 should be carefully considered: 06:40 “‘For I hate divorce,’ 06:43 says Jehovah the God of Israel.” 06:46 If you find your marital peace is threatened, 06:49 review articles like the one 06:51 in the May 15, 2012, study edition of The Watchtower entitled 06:56 “Take a Positive View of a Strained Marriage.” 07:00 It provides powerful counsel that can help 07:03 to save and strengthen your marriage bond.
00:01 Can the Bible save a marriage that’s in danger? 00:05 The following interviews, while very frank, 00:08 will show the exceeding value of God’s own Word, the Bible, 00:13 to preserve that divine union. 00:15 Almost from the start of the marriage, 00:17 it was not running smoothly, to say the least. 00:22 We were fighting constantly. 00:25 Even the smallest things we would argue over, 00:30 and it would just get blown out of proportion. 00:33 We couldn’t communicate without it being an argument. 00:37 Steadily the arguments increased 00:40 in frequency and intensity. 00:43 And you think, ‘Well, I’m not happy here,’ 00:47 and that’s when I threatened to leave. 00:50 Sometimes I felt like completely giving up on the marriage. 00:55 There would be arguments where you’d be packing the bags 00:57 and saying you’d wished you’d never done it. 00:59 And ultimately it would end in insults. 01:01 Jehovah was missing in our marriage, 01:04 and that was the essential part of making our marriage work. 01:08 A brother and sister that we’d known for a long time 01:12 initially offered us a Bible study. 01:15 They invited us to their Family Worship evening 01:18 to have dinner and to do The Watchtower with them, 01:20 which we accepted. 01:22 The Family Worship arrangement helped 01:25 because it wasn’t just Bible principles that you read about, 01:28 but we saw them being applied in this couple’s life. 01:32 And so all of a sudden, 01:34 I could see the cause and effect of a Bible principle. 01:38 But the impact that it was having was tremendous 01:42 because we could see how to apply a Bible principle and make it work. 01:46 I think it took a long time before things got better, honestly, 01:50 but the turning point was coming back to Jehovah. 01:54 There were many principles that all of a sudden 01:56 were like little light bulbs going off, 01:59 such as Jesus at John 13:34 02:01 when he recommended his example. 02:04 Ephesians 5:33 02:07 eventually had an impact on me, 02:09 because there were articles that pointed out 02:11 how important it is for a husband to feel respected by his wife, 02:15 and I don’t think I’d ever really appreciated that before. 02:18 I just viewed it as a mechanical process: 02:20 He’s the head; he needs to have respect from his wife. 02:24 I didn’t recognize that it’s important for a husband to feel respected 02:28 to be able to take on his role as head. 02:33 We’re so thankful to Jehovah for his patience. 02:37 The Bible principles were always there; 02:39 we just weren’t making application of them. 02:41 As soon as we started to make application, 02:43 our marriage did a complete turnaround. 02:47 Where we are now is totally different. 02:49 The relationship that we have is what we wanted at the start 02:53 but didn’t know how to get. 02:55 It’s just that application of Bible principles 02:57 that has made it possible. 03:05 We were 17, actually, when we met and 20 when we got married. 03:09 Life was good for Tony and me; we were happy. 03:13 But then I got into another business 03:16 that became the main focus in my life. 03:19 It had quite a dramatic effect on our spirituality. 03:22 We went through a time when we hardly saw each other, 03:26 so there was a great deal of time that we spent apart. 03:29 Bible principles were ones that weren’t brought into our life. 03:34 At that time, Bible reading was out of the picture. 03:39 I started delving into viewing things 03:42 that were really, really inappropriate. 03:45 And then it eventually happened 03:49 where I didn’t really care what I viewed, 03:51 and I didn’t think about the consequences 03:55 and of the unhappiness that it would cause. 03:59 It made me feel very, extremely, unloved. 04:04 I felt very angry about his behavior. 04:08 I felt a lot of resentment towards him, a lot of bitterness. 04:11 We ended up in separation, to begin with. 04:15 I left Tony; I walked away from him. 04:17 I walked away from the marriage, walked away from the business 04:20 and, eventually, ended up unscripturally divorcing Tony. 04:25 The elders who were assisting me 04:30 helped me to see exactly how Jehovah felt 04:33 about what I’d been doing 04:35 and where my relationship was with him, and it was quite poor. 04:40 I felt that because of the betrayal that I had experienced, 04:43 I did not have a problem with my conscience at all in going through the divorce. 04:47 It seemed the logical and best way for me to go. 04:50 With my Bible reading, 04:52 I got to see Amos 5:15. 04:55 It really had an effect on me 04:57 because I needed to “hate what is bad, and love what is good.” 05:00 One scripture that affected me 05:02 was from Malachi about how Jehovah felt about divorce. 05:06 Altogether, it took us 15 years before we got together again. 05:10 I was just enjoying a day out in the field midweek, 05:14 and I got home in mid-afternoon. 05:18 And all of a sudden, my mobile phone rang, 05:21 and I heard Rhonda’s voice. 05:25 What a delight it was that she was inviting me 05:27 to accompany her for a cup of coffee somewhere 05:31 to talk about things! 05:36 If I hadn’t started having a Scriptural intake 05:39 and learning to love God’s Word, 05:42 my life wouldn’t have changed. 05:45 Without the Bible, Tony and I would not be together. 05:48 The marriage would never ever have reconciled. 05:51 We have become best friends, so we really enjoy 05:54 being in each other’s company and serving Jehovah together. 05:58 Our married life now has certainly benefited 06:01 by both of us seeing how beneficial the Scriptures are. 06:06 Tony and I are now very much a couple, 06:08 and so no matter what we deal with, it’s us together. 06:12 When situations like these arise, 06:15 it’s not just our marriage that’s affected. 06:18 Our relationship with Jehovah is on the line! 06:22 Our dear sister, for example, 06:24 reached an emotional point where she felt the only solution 06:27 was an unscriptural divorce. 06:30 As we make our decisions in marriage, 06:32 Jehovah’s feelings on the subject, found at Malachi 2:16, 06:37 should be carefully considered: 06:40 “‘For I hate divorce,’ 06:43 says Jehovah the God of Israel.” 06:46 If you find your marital peace is threatened, 06:49 review articles like the one 06:51 in the May 15, 2012, study edition of The Watchtower entitled 06:56 “Take a Positive View of a Strained Marriage.” 07:00 It provides powerful counsel that can help 07:03 to save and strengthen your marriage bond.
