Oh I needed this one!  (It probably would have been even more helpful, if I had read it before I got frustrated with my husband.)

Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord.  Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them.  Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord.  Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged.

Slaves, obey your human masters in everything, not only when being watched, as currying favor, but in simplicity of heart, fearing the Lord.  Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment of the inheritance; be slaves of the Lord Christ.  For the wrongdoer will receive recompense for the wrong he committed, and there is no partiality.

Colossians 3: 18-25

This is another one for which I could probably use a daily reminder.  Usually I get hung up on the subordinate language (which I don’t particularly love), but today I focused on: “Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment of the inheritance; be slaves of the Lord Christ.”   Here is what I heard when I read this: Do everything from the heart — from goodness.  Everything is for the Lord.  I think sometimes I let myself get trapped into reacting to how others treat me.  But really every action we take is for the Lord — and if I remember it in that context, instead of whether the other person deserves goodness or whether I need to respond to  what they have said or done, then my response will be better.  I just need to love — I don’t necessarily need to correct, or judge, or prove that I am right.  My attitude, my response, my heart needs to be for the Lord, and I suspect if I do that, my interactions with others will be more loving, humble/subordinate, obedient and unprovoking (which is how God calls us all to be).

Dear God,

Grant me the grace to be humble, to be loving, to be obedient to you.  Help me fill all of my relationships with your love.  Help me treat everyone as I would treat you, instead of how I might feel treated by them.  Help me to do everything from my heart — the heart that you gave me.  Help me to place my desires subordinate to the needs of others.