by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.

Few of us over the age of 35 will forget those long gasoline lines that occurred during the “oil crisis” in 1973-74. Naturally, some greedy people wanted to cut in line to get ahead of others. Newspapers carried stories about everything from profanity and lawsuits to stabbings and shootings, as people fought for their places in line to get gas.

One woman cut in front of a motorbike. The cyclist slowly got off his bike, took off his helmet and glasses, and proceeded to let the air out of all four of her tires while she sat helplessly caught in the line!

But the most creative stunt I read about was the young man who got cut off and retaliated by unscrewing the gas cap from the offending car, replacing it with his own locking gas cap, and driving off-with the gas cap key in his pocket!

All too many of us get caught up in the rush to the shallow well of “me-first-ism.” “We’re Number One!” becomes not just a yell at a football game but a personal motto. But selfishness is possibly the most dangerous threat to oneness that any marriage can face.

The apostle Paul’s counsel therefore becomes a prescription for marital oneness: “Give preference to one another in honor.” Marriage provides the opportunity to live life for someone besides yourself and to avoid the terrible judgment: “All I’ve got is me. I can’t depend on anyone else.”

Prayer: For God to give all members of your family the desire to serve one another and that they would feel no compulsion to compete to be “first in line.”