What do Christ's commandments call spouses to

When spouses follow the commandments, the family lives and develops, rather than degrades.

What do Christ’s commandments call spouses to?

«Blessed are the poor in spirit...»

This means that one should live by the soul, not by ideals and principles.

«Blessed are those who mourn...»

One should not seek revenge in response to insult and injury, and not retaliate blow for blow.

«Blessed are the meek...»

If a person can curb their sexual needs, the desire to eat, the desire to seek various pleasures, then they can build harmonious relationships with loved ones, as any interaction with people is to some extent self-limitation.

«Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...»

Truth is a part of the ultimate truth. Those who thirst for righteousness, who seek the truth, are those who strive for the ultimate truth. A person seeking to find the truth does find it but does not stop there—they go further, they seek a more complete, more expansive truth.

Suppose we see one side of the coin—that is the truth; we see the other side of the coin—that is also the truth. But when we see both sides of the coin, it is closer to the ultimate truth.

The seeker of truth is a person who strives for development. The truth they find becomes more expansive, approaching the ultimate truth.

Development is the search for truth. And truth without love is impossible.

When spouses, interacting, together seek ways and forms of union, striving to find a common solution to various problems, then the family develops.

Husband and wife must understand that all problems are shared and that they must unite to solve them.

And when spouses unite against a common problem, then it is resolved much more quickly and easily.

«Blessed are the merciful...»

In translation from Polish, «mercy» means love.

The merciful are those who know how to forgive. Mercy is forgiveness, compassion, attention, understanding.

The merciful are those who do not focus on the flaws or shortcomings of a spouse. They will not pay attention to another’s mistake, nor will they fiercely fight over some trifle trying to prove their point.

They know how to see the main issue and yield in the small things; they are magnanimous.

Magnanimity, nobility—these are crucial qualities necessary for spouses to create a harmonious family.

«Blessed are the pure in heart...»

A pure-hearted person is one who harbors no grudge.

If there are any grievances in the depths of the soul, sooner or later they will inevitably burst out in the form of aggression or illness.

With a close person, one needs to be sincere, to express all grievances rather than accumulating them inside.

Unspoken grievances against a spouse often corrode both health and relationships.

Those who think ill of their spouse, focusing on his or her shortcomings, feel a sense of superiority over them.

Insincerity, the inability to voice grievances, internal arrogance, deception—all these destroy the family.

When do spouses deceive each other? When they want to control, manipulate another person, to subdue them to themselves.

The pure in heart are those who feel equality with each other. A pure-hearted person does not demean another nor allow themselves to be demeaned.

A marital union is possible only on the basis of internal unity, equality.

When one of the spouses internally strives to constantly dominate, relationships are destroyed. Only the pure in heart, that is, people who are sincere and emotionally open, can create equal relationships. And there can be no love without equality.

«Blessed are the peacemakers...»

There is an aphorism: «A bad peace is better than a good war.»

A peacemaker is one who is ready to compromise, to yield, to remain silent, not to assert their rightness vehemently—he does this in order to preserve good, warm relations. In other words, a peacemaker is one who knows how to change. Those who are willing to change are developing. Those who consider themselves right will not develop: if they are already right, why should they change, why develop?

A peacemaker seeks what unites, not what divides. For a peacemaker, the sense of unity is above grievances, injuries, above the feeling of superiority.

People who are willing to change can understand another person, put themselves in their place, to some extent change their point of view—these are the peacemakers.

A peacemaker can only be one for whom love is more important than justice.

If justice is foremost for a person, they can never come to terms with their «other half.» Since they are not willing to change their position, they will not be able to unite two opposing points of view.

S.N. Lazarev, «Secrets of Family Happiness.»