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Two are Better Than One
Ecclesiastes 4:9
"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour."
One of the most important things a married couple needs to learn is that they are a team. A marriage that does not work as a team is a marriage that has problems. Two people going their own separate ways will cause serious marital problems. Therefore, it is important that each spouse works hard at becoming a team member.
In the verse above, God said that, "Two are better than one;..." When you look at this verse in context, you will see that God is talking about marriage. God was teaching the married couple that it will take work from both sides to have a successful marriage. This implies that both sides must be involved in the work to have a happy marriage. It cannot be one person trying to make the marriage happy while the other is passive and could care less. It must be both husband and wife working together for their marriage to experience the reward of happiness. God shows us in this verse that there are benefits for a couple who works together.
The first benefit is that when one falls, the other is there to pick them up. God says in verse 10, "For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow:..." It is important for married couples to realize that their spouse will not be perfect. Because they are not perfect, you must be willing to help them recover when they fall. Instead of couples throwing their failures at each other, a happy marriage is one that will help the other through their failures. Not only is helping your spouse to get up after failure a benefit of marriage, but it also means that you can keep each other from failing. If both husband and wife will work together, they can keep each other from failure more easily than doing it alone.
In verse 12, we find the second benefit of marriage is that two can fight battles better than one. God says, "And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him;..." Everyone will fight battles in life. When each face a battle, it is important that the married couple fight the battle together. When both work together through battles, then they have a easier time of overcoming the battle.
The final benefit of two working together is closeness. When a husband and wife work together as a team, they will discover a closeness that will bring each of them joy. You will always learn more about someone by working with them than by simply playing. In both benefits mentioned above, work is involved to accomplish the benefit. When the husband and wife work together, they will develop the closeness that they envisioned before marriage.
In your marriage, work hard at becoming a team. Don't be one who lets your spouse do all the work, but join together as a team to make your marriage what it ought to be. "Two are better than one..." so, stop trying to work your marriage alone and become a team player.