The Poisoning of a Marriage

Poison is usually sweet. At least I assume it is the way the little ants by my front door gobbled it up. I found the little offenders crawling around the shoe cubby and found a few in my purse which I keep on a shelf by the door! That was the last straw. I complained to my long-suffering husband and he put out some ant poison. "Be sure you don't kill any of the ants," he cautioned. "For the poison to do its work, the ants have to carry it back with them to their home." That was a very difficult thing, to see ants meandering along, enjoying their fill of the poison we had put out for them and wandering away. It was hard not to squash them, but I refrained. For a day or two, they did what they pleased, much to my frustration. Then, I realized they were gone. As was the poison on the little ant trap put out by my husband. And I haven't seen them since!

Yes, the poison was sweet enough to draw those little ants but deadly enough to destroy their whole colony. That is what can happen in our homes. Not little insects marching through a front door, but the little thoughts that march through our minds.

The poison that threatens any marriage is that of resentment. When thoughts of "I'm so thankful for a hard-working husband that provides for our family" turn to the poison, they wander back to the consciousness with "He works, works, works! You'd think he was married to a job instead of me. He doesn't care at all about being with us." Thoughts of "I'm so happy to serve the Lord and my husband by making our home a beautiful haven" turn to this after tasting the poison: "I pick up after that man constantly! He doesn't care how hard he makes me work. He thinks I'm his personal slave!"

The poison of resentment turns loving affection to coldness, kind words to sarcasm and criticism, service to selfishness and unity to brokenness. By the time it runs its course, it has affected the whole atmosphere of the home. It can even destroy the whole marriage.

My little intruders carried the poison back to their colony and it was destroyed. Take your thoughts captive, as God's Word commands, and feed on the good in your husband rather than the poison of resentment. Or the same may be true of your home.



Jennifer Self is a disciple of Jesus Christ who loves following His plan for her life as a wife to the most wonderful man in the world and mama to four little blessings. Her days are filled with spending time with her man, homeschooling, preparing reasonably healthy meals and keeping the dust bunnies and the clutter monster at bay with a little blogging mixed in. After her family has been taken care of, she dabbles in her other passions of reading, health and music. She blogs about her life, her Heavenly Father, marriage, parenting and home at www.joyeverafter.blogspot.com and real food for real families from the perspective of real faith at www.growingreal.net.