Love Believes All Things

In the Building a Eucharistic Marriage video series I recently recorded with my wife, she made a very insightful observation. She couldn’t remember when or how it happened, but somewhere in the early stages of our marriage, she recognized that we had stopped believing the best about each other and instead were assuming the worst about the other person’s actions and intentions. After years of working through issues in our marriage and learning to use good communication skills, we discovered that, although we both truly wanted the best for each other, we often failed to understand and accurately “feed” one another’s needs. Because of this, we had become defensive, short-tempered, and frustrated with each other.

This particular statement in 1 Corinthians 13 is not advocating for us to be naive or gullible. Rather, I contend that it is conveying that true love calls us to believe the best about each other. When things go awry in marriage, love challenges us to look inward, identify the root of the problem, and work to strengthen our relationship instead of resorting to anger, sarcasm, or bitterness. Overreactions and thoughtless words only lead to defensiveness, poor communication, and mutual resentment.

 Authentic love asks us to believe that our spouse truly loves us and wants the best for us, although they may forget how to show it. You may find your marriage in a challenging place right now due to years of escalated arguments and hurtful words, but, it is never too late to change this trajectory. Choose today to begin believing the best of your spouse and to calmly work through each situation that comes your way.

 ACTION STEP: This week, frequently remind yourself to react more slowly to situations that arise and to believe that your spouse does want the best for your marriage. Take time to listen to and understand your spouse.