Don’t Come to Church Angry at Your Spouse (But You Still Need to Come to Church)

(Mal. 2:13-15)
13 And this is another thing you do: you cover the LORD’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer respects your offerings or receives [them] gladly from your hands.  14 Yet you ask, “For what reason?” Because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have acted treacherously against her, though she was your marriage partner and your wife by covenant. 15 Didn’t the one [God] make [us] with a remnant of His life-breath? And what does the One seek? A godly offspring. So watch yourselves carefully, and do not act treacherously against the wife of your youth.

If you are a parent of one or more children, you know the earnest desire you have to see your kids get along. When they argue, fuss, and fight, it breaks your heart. Sometimes, it can even make you mad because you know how they should act. You know if they would only act selflessly, their lives could be enriched so much. Unfortunately, they continue to hurt each other, and you, as their parent, have to get involved.

In marriage, it is important to remember that each of you is a child of God. When you argue, fuss, and fight, it breaks the heart of God. Sometimes, it even makes him angry. He doesn’t get to the point of anger where he can’t forgive you or can’t move on past it, but he does take it seriously how you treat your spouse.

In this passage, God reveals his disgust with apparent repentance (coming to the altar with tears) without love for one’s spouse (kinda makes you think about the manner in which you come to church in regards to your spouse, doesn’t it?). God doesn’t want our devotion if we treat his child badly. To love God means to love his child. In your case, to love God means to love your spouse. Your actions towards your spouse are not isolated. Those actions affect your spouse but God also cares how you treat one another.

When you treat your spouse poorly, God is disappointed. When you speak harmfully to your spouse, God is offended. But when you choose to love your spouse, you are living a lifestyle of worship that God receives proudly.

Don’t come to church angry at your spouse.  Since I am a pastor, I want you to come to church, so you need to heal your marriage.  Work on it.

Today, as you engage your spouse, remember that your spiritual walk in intricately tied to how you treat your spouse.

Travis Agnew

Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.