ARE YOU A MAMA'S BOY?

I have been a police officer for almost 34 years, and I've been in the ministry for over 40 years. 

In my police career I have been to hundreds of disturbances, many of them between a husband and wife. And during my time as a minister, I have counselled dozens, if not hundreds, of married couples. 

I have come to see that there there are many things that clause a couple to split, but there is one "disease" that has contributed to much turmoil.

It's called MBS.

Or, to acknowledge its full name: Mama's Boy Syndrome.

I was recently reading the words of Jesus. On one occasion, the religious leaders came and asked Him if it was permissible to divorce one's wife for any reason. 

Jesus responded by calling attention to the Original Plan: "God made them male and female. And for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." (Matthew 19)

Here is a simple truth for all men: you cannot CLEAVE to your wife, until you first LEAVE your father and mother.

The command here is much more extensive than we realize. All married men must learn that a good marriage begins with LEAVING everybody and everything that stands in the way of you and your wife's well-being.

In 1978 I lived in southern Arkansas. I had been married for over a year, but, in spite of being a married man, I was still deeply attached to my parents. 

My wife desperately needed me. In the Fall of 1978 we gave birth to a little boy, Joshua. Josh only lived 3 days. The grief in my wife's heart was overwhelming. To make matters more difficult, we were barely 20-years old. We simply didn't know what to do with our grief. 

But, like so many men I knew (know), I was too attached to mom and dad. I am grateful that God intervened. We packed our bags and moved 300 miles away. It was one of the most difficult things I had ever done. I had never lived that far from my family..

But therein lies my faulty thinking. My "family" was no longer mom and dad and siblings: my family was my WIFE.

Sir, you will never be the husband you are called to be until you first leave all others. Anybody that stands in the way of your marriage must be forsaken.

If you have friends that your wife has problems with; abandon them! Don't be cruel or judgmental of them; simply let them go and cleave to your wife.

Make the decision that you will give priority to Jesus, and obey Him accordingly.