Marriage: Scripture Over Culture

A friend of mine, Kenny K'ore, once said something that stuck with me:

“Marriage is run by Scripture, not culture.”

At the time, I thought it was a clever line. But now? It hits different.

Because the more I observe, the more I realize...we’ve got so many voices trying to tell us what marriage should look like.

Every culture has its spin. Some say the man is king and the woman must bow. Others say partnership is everything, but no one submits to anything. Every tradition has its strengths...and its flaws.

Even the children of Israel had their traditions around marriage. Cultural norms influenced everything from dowries to divorce. But then Jesus came…and flipped the whole thing on its head.

He called husbands to lay down their lives for their wives— according to Ephesians 5:25. Not just provide. Not just protect. Die.

He told men to love like He loves. That’s not cultural. That’s kingdom.

And the apostles? They echoed this call to a higher standard...urging us to treat our spouses with honor, mutual submission, and sacrificial love. (1 Peter 3:7, Ephesians 5:21)

That’s why it baffles me when I hear a Christian husband say,

“I’m a traditional man.”

Or a Christian wife say,

“Well, in my culture…”

Hear me:

You’re either a kingdom man or a traditional man.

You’re either building your marriage on Scripture, or you’re dragging cultural baggage into a covenant it was never meant to carry.

God never asked us to be cultural in our marriages.

He asked us to be Christlike.

So yes...culture might have raised you. But Scripture must shape you.

Because at the end of the day, we don’t stand before our culture.

We stand before our King.

Choose wisely. Build rightly. Love better.

#BeBetter #LoveBetter #DoBetter #MarriageWorks #KingdomOverCulture