There’s nothing I love more in the summer than taking in a good movie with my hubby. Recently we went to one that’s worth mentioning for more than one reason. We went to see the movie, 42 that tells the story of how Jackie Robinson broke the race barrier in professional baseball.

It’s inspiring—gut wrenchingly so at times. It’s clean—except for some bad language here and there. It gives you greater perspective in a lot of ways.

I know it’s been out a while, so you may have a hard time finding a theater that’s still showing it or maybe you can wait until it comes out on DVD. But it’s worth hunting down!

Obviously, this movie gives you perspective as to what it was like for an African-American man or woman in the prejudiced American society of the 1940’s. I couldn’t help but notice that it also brings perspective to those who face barriers in marriage. Let me list just a few …

Barriers in Marriage –

• The barrier of being married to an unbeliever who’s resistant to, even disrespectful of your faith.
• The barrier of living daily with an emotionally abusive spouse—even if it’s only occasionally.
• The barrier of living with a spouse who’s contentious or loves to argue.

Even if your spouse doesn’t fit any of those categories, we’ve all experienced barriers in marriage that seem insurmountable at times. It’s easy to feel that fighting back against mistreatment or prejudice is the way to handle conflict. But it really muddies the waters. No longer does your spouse’s hateful actions or words matter once you return “evil for evil.”

You move from being innocent to being guilty of reacting or worse. 

And, more importantly, it isn’t what Christ calls His followers to do and be. The GM, Branch Rickey (played by Harrison Ford), reminds Jackie of this incredibly difficult calling when so much is on the line, saying …

“Your enemy will be out in force, but you cannot meet him on his own low ground.”

That’s what we must do when we face barriers in marriage. Never stoop to hateful words and actions no matter how hateful your spouse may be acting. This doesn’t mean responding with a holier-than-thou attitude either, but rather demonstrating a Christ-like attitude of kindness, humility and forgiveness.

I know, I know! That’s so hard when we’ve just been deeply hurt by our spouse!

In fact, it’s impossible to do without surrendering our hurting hearts to Christ and letting Him love and forgive through us. Simply letting Christ’s abundant love and mercy flow to our mates will inspire them to greater heights than any sharp-tongued reaction or logical debate ever will!

What other marriage barriers have you encountered that you could add to my list above?

What has helped you to surrender your hurts to God?

“Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.” -Proverbs 25:15 (NIV)

Check out the trailer for this incredible movie. I promise this movie will inspire you to greater heights in your marriage and life … 42 Trailer

Photo by Baseball Collection

Linking up with – NOBH, Momma Notes, Marriage Moments Monday, Making Your Home Sing Monday, Matrimonial Monday, Playdates with God and Marriage Monday’s