Counsels on Relationships

Counsel #4 — Expressing Affirmation

Picture: Counsel #4 — EXPRESSING Affirmation CR 99.1

Affirmation is another important element of give and take. Give genuine compliments. Express your appreciation for each other. In healthy relationships both the husband and wife enjoy admiration for their appearance, abilities, and character traits.^[94] CR 99.2

It’s easy for a husband or wife to take their partner for granted and fail to thank them for the small as well as the big things each does to improve their shared life. Cooking meals, washing the car, doing the laundry, mowing the lawn, paying the bills — all of these may seem mundane, but they’re important and they all deserve a “thank you.” CR 99.3

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 
1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV CR 99.4

“Let each give love rather than exact it. Cultivate that which is noblest in yourselves, and be quick to recognize the good qualities in each other. The consciousness of being appreciated is a wonderful stimulus and satisfaction. Sympathy and respect encourages the striving after excellence, and love itself increases as it stimulates to nobler aims.” Ellen White in The Adventist Home, p. 107 CR 99.5

Reflect: Do you express appreciation for your spouse readily and often? CR 99.6