Yes, Dear

When asked for marital advice, I once heard a guy say, "A man should always have the last word in a relationship. And those words should be, 'Yes, dear.'"

Then the other night at dinner with friends, one shared a story about a guy that would snuggle with his wife as they woke up in the morning and say softly in her ear, "I'm sorry. For whatever I will do wrong today, I'm sorry." The guys got a good laugh out of it.

Both of those stories back up the common quip"; "Happy wife, happy life." This is assuming that every woman believes she is always right, the husband is always wrong, and that he should do whatever she says.

Of course it's malarkey. Women are not always right and men are not always wrong. You will be equally right and wrong in situations you find yourself in, but this is key, so lean in so you truly grasp it: if and when you do something wrong, admit it, genuinely apologize for it and don't do it again. That goes for both of you. Then, for the one who was right, do not, under any circumstances, bring up said offense again. Ever. If you've forgiven the other, it's over and done with. Move on in love.

Now this is all easily said, but it's just as easily forgotten. So when you catch yourself in the middle of this type of situation, take a step back and intentionally ask for forgiveness and likewise grant it. And to the one in the right, do not gloat in your superior situation, because trust us, you will be in the wrong soon enough.

These are common sense bits of advice here, but people have a tendency to slip into these behaviors, so work on combating these errors as early as possibly in your relationship. Respect and love for one another will help deter resorting to petty responses and one-upmanship.

For the record, though, I truly am the one who's typically right. Question is ... which one of us do you think wrote this?

Discussion: How do you both respond to situation where you disagree? Do one or the other of you feel you are usually the one to back down in situations? Do you apologize when you are wrong? Are you good in reconciling?

Prayer: Lord, help us to remember that being right is not the most important thing, but rather loving and respecting. and help us to be quick to apologize when we're in the wrong. For You and for Your glory, in Jesus, Amen.