I title it Honesty with God and with One Another. A wise man with long experience as a lawyer, as a counselor, as a church leader once told me that he was convinced that money is perhaps the major factor in strained marital relations and the tragic consequences that flow therefrom. My young friend of whom I spoke earlier accused his wife of being extravagant, a waster of their means. In bitterness she told me that he was stingy, a poor provider. Their bickering over pennies had led to the erosion of their love.
Marriage usually brings with it the incurring of many obligations.
To you, my young friends, I should like to suggest that you make it your first obligation to live honestly with God in the payment of your riches and offerings. I give you my solemn testimony that he does that which he has promised to do. Among those blessings will be peace in the home and love in the heart. As you discipline yourselves in the expenditure of your means, beginning with your obligations to your Father in heaven, the cankering selfishness that leads to so much strain in domestic affairs will go out of your lives, for if you will share with the Lord whom you do not see, you will deal more graciously, more honestly, and more generously with those whom you do see. As you live honestly with God, you will be inclined to live honestly with one another.