Several weeks ago, I watched an episode of Fear Factor that featured two couples playing a high stakes game of tug of war. Each pair stood holding the end of a long rope that would extend to the other couple. They were both positioned on a separate three story building. The object was for one couple to pull the other couple off their building and fall three stories down. Luckily, safety harnesses were used. The losing couple would leave the show and the other couple would advance to the next level. As both couples pulled and strained, they began to tire. They continued to pull and grunt as one couple began to gain advantage. Soon, the weaker pair began to creep slowly to the side of the building, until they were pulled off. The next scene, after the slow motion replays, was a picture of the losing couple walking away with their heads hung low.
There are times when our family decisions seem like a tug-of-war, with each parent pulling toward his or her own way. This is particularly true after a deployment, when one parent has been making all of the decisions and the other parent comes home and resumes “calling the shots”. Downrange, many decisions were made by the soldier and the spouse independently of the other. Here at home, however, there are other factors to be considered. The Bible says; “Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing.” (Phil. 2:4, NLT) Now is the time for all of us to consider the needs of those around us. Take time to talk about decisions that need to be made, consider the other points of view, and decide together on a solution. Be careful not to criticize or demean the other spouse. We need to be careful to take time to consider the impact of creating a tug of war over our decisions at home.
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This post was originally published in the Fort Campbell Courier in 2006. It is always nice to find little articles that I once wrote in my databases. I try to quickly put them online, so I won’t lose them again!
Photo from Pixaby.com