Plain Truth: Love for money is another cause of havoc and divorce in marriages

Date: 22 November 2013   Read: 1220

Marriages are also falling apart because of money. Issues range from how money is generated in families to how it is spent. There are therefore many dimensions to look at surrounding this divisive issue.

I want to start by highlighting problems attached to money which are leading couples to break up, namely: (a) love for money which more often gives birth to (b) greed – not wanting to spend either for yourself or your family. I know of men whose bank accounts are smiling with lots of money but they are very stingy in terms of spending this money either in building, paying for education, buying clothes, taking their families out for holiday and even buying groceries for their own. (c) Love for money which results in men and women leaving their married partners for those with big pockets. (d) Failure to budget properly, especially in the case where only one person is working in the house.

There are women who do not know how much they husbands earn and even how they plan to spend their money. When you try to help in such cases, more often you are met with a statement: “there is everything in the house, what more does she want?” (e) The last but not the least in this instance is overspending or spending beyond your budget and means. In this case women in general are the culprits. They do not shy away from overspending or getting themselves indebted, knowing very well that they can’t service their existing debts.

How then do we curb problems related to money, marriage and divorce? We should first and foremost develop a common philosophy about money, how it is generated and spent within the marriage context. The love of money is the root cause of all evil and therefore, if not well handled in the marriage context, it has huge potential for destruction. This is one common understanding that should encourage every married couple not to shy away from discussing money issues in their marriage.

Money and wealth come from the Lord and therefore we should prayerfully discuss how best we can generate money and spend it in our marriages. I once met a woman who knows that her husband is working but does not know what he does and where he works.

She just enjoys seeing him bring groceries home and indeed they never run out of anything in the house, and therefore she is happy about this arrangement. In the marriage context, especially when we have agreed to marry legally and in community of property, there is no way that we can run away from having a meaningful conversation regarding these issues.  Know what your spouse is earning, budget together and spend in such a way that there is a common approach in the family as to how best to spend your money.

Lastly, stop mistreating the other person because he or she is currently not working in your marriage context. When you hide your pocket away from your wife or husband, you are hiding it away from your major support base – even when you become penniless or become indebted to a point of failing to service your debts. Your partner should be your partner even when it comes to money issues. Do not just spend without his or her knowledge.  I hope this article will help to spark discussions in your marriage context.