The state of California was recently rocked with the ending of the marriage of our former Governor.  Even though our leaders may not be professing Christians, it is a shock because we do expect our leaders to act in a way that is consistent with their office and the respect their office commands.

But it does raise the question for all of.  What do you do to protect your marriage?

Here are four actions I take in order to protect my marriage:

1. I focus on my relationship with God.  Paul tells us in Romans 12:1 that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God as an act of worship.  To me that means that every action that I engage in is to bring glory to God. Why? Because I love God and don’t want to do anything to offend Him.
2. I invest in my relationship with Roxie. We spend numerous hours cultivating success at work by focusing on developing strategic relationships.  Those strategic relationships equal job security and future profits for our companies.  Why wouldn’t we take that same focus and invest our time and energies in one of the most important relationships we will ever have for all eternity?  It’s a guaranteed win with great profitability for the future.  If you want a strong marriage, you need to invest time, energy and resources into making your marriage strong.  There used to be a concept called quality time.  It’s not home much time, but the quality of the time spent.  That is a fallacy.  Love equals Quantity Time.  That is reality
3. I set personal boundaries. I am often misunderstood and perceived as being stand offish or unfriendly, but my real goal is to stay happily married. Because I value my marriage:
   • I will not meet alone with someone of the opposite sex.
   • I will not travel alone (even in a car) with someone of the opposite sex.
   • I will not be overly friendly or flirtatious with someone of the opposite sex.
   • I will speak about my wife often and passionately.
4. I consider the effect of my behavior. What do I want my kids to know about me?  What do I want my friends to know about me?  What do I want my grandchildren, co-workers or other unbelievers to know about me?  This brings it home for me.  Do I want to be known as a faithful and loving husband?  Do I want to be known as the guy who threw it all away for one moment of passion?  Do I want to be known as an example that God doesn’t work for people?  What legacy do I want to leave.

We do an event with our city called Character Counts.  It counts for our family.  It counts for those who are watching our lives to see if God is real.  It counts for our legacy.  We need to be leaders in our personal lives before we can lead the lives of others.  Let’s focus on the things that really matter in life… our relationship with God and our relationship with our wife.  Our children are counting on it.