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| A Renter's Mentality | 2.2.09 |
Take just a few minutes and think about the following two mentalities,
A casual renters mentality and a committed owners mentality.
From a home or car perspective, as a casual renter many of us would agree that we do not care the same for the house or car as we would if we owned it. We have no future vision because we know there is no long term goal, no caring for the investment since there really was none, and if anything went wrong with the car or house, then we would not care as much (if at all) and many times look to get rid of the rental and move on to something else. Who hasn’t done things to a rental car that they would never do to their own.
Contrast this to a committed owners mentality and you see a completely different attitude and mind set. We tend to be much more passionate about the homes and cars we own, fixing them up, vs. letting things go. We often take much more pride in them, we see the vision of the future, making improvements, necessary repairs, working hard at making sure they last and are well cared for.
Lets apply these thoughts to marriage. It is said that the reason many marriages fail or are in trouble today, is because so many of people have a renters mentality vs. a committed owners mentality. In a renters mindset, we leave at the first sign of trouble, we are open to and always looking for something better, we seem to want to trade in at the drop of a hat. The world and Satan are working to convince us to give up, treat our relationships poorly then expect them to be solid, secure and to have a strong foundation.
Now is a time for us (all of us) as Christians, to flip the switch inside, not to follow the lead of the world, but to make sure we have the right mentality and outlook toward our marriages, to stand committed to the investment, maintain a positive outlook no matter the situation, to work on what needs to be worked on, to make sure we remain devoted, dedicated, and committed. Don't treat your marriage like a rental car or it will turn out to be a wreck.
Tim Carlisle