Dennis Rainey: Have you ever compared your marriage to a business partnership?

Guest: I guess at times our relationship would be an equal partnership, but there are also times when each of us has to be a silent partner.

Dennis Rainey: Today, the business world has all kinds of partnerships: silent partners, controlling partners, and many more. In marriage, though, God intends for us to have only one kind of partnership: a fully participating partnership. Although husbands and wives have different roles, both have an equal inheritance as a child of God.

When I become the sole proprietor in our marriage and treat Barbara as a silent partner, we both lose. She loses the opportunity to feel included and important. I lose because I tend to make poor decisions when I am isolated from her. Most wives long to be trusted with their husbands' challenges, emotions, and self-doubts. Most husbands long for their wives respect, encouragement, and support.

One final thought. Do you feel like you are partners in your marriage? Tonight why don't you talk about how you two can become fully participating partners.

I'm Dennis Rainey, and that's Real Family Life.

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