As I reflected on the year 2025, I found myself thinking about the seven deadly sins.
Pride. Lust. Envy. Gluttony. Greed. Wrath. Sloth.
We often talk about them in abstract, churchy ways...
like some distant theological concepts, or dramatic moral failures.
But if they show up in everyday life,
they most certainly show up in marriage.
Not always loud.
Not always obvious.
They tend to show up as personality, stress, preferences, or “this is just how I am.”
Marriage doesn’t create sin...
it reveals it.
Because marriage is close enough to expose motives, habits, fears, appetites, and wounds.
There’s nowhere to hide for long.
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The quiet way sin enters marriage
Rarely does a marriage collapse because of one explosive moment.
More often, it erodes because something small was allowed to stay.
Pride sounds like: “I’m not the problem.”
Lust whispers: “I deserve more than this.”
Envy compares: “Other marriages look happier.”
Gluttony consumes: “I want without restraint.”
Greed hoards: “Mine matters more.”
Wrath reacts: “I’ll hurt you back.”
Sloth avoids: “I’m tired of trying.”
None of these arrive announcing themselves.
They move in quietly, set up furniture, and before we know it, we call it normal.
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What they do to marriage
Left unchecked, the deadly sins don’t just affect behavior...
they shape the culture of a home.
They distort communication.
They poison intimacy.
They shift marriage from partnership to power struggle.
They turn “us” into “me vs you.”
They are not called deadly for dramatic effect.
They are deadly because they kill connection.
The Bible says in Song of Solomon 2:15 “It is the little foxes that spoil the vine.”
Marriages rarely fall apart from one giant fox.
They suffer from many small ones.
The Bible doesn’t ignore this
Scripture is remarkably honest about human nature...even in a covenant relationship like marriage.
It calls out pride before it hardens hearts.
It warns against lust before it fractures intimacy.
It confronts envy before it turns love bitter.
It challenges wrath before it becomes cruelty.
It speaks against laziness before it becomes neglect.
Not because God is against pleasure, desire, or rest...
but because He is fiercely for wholeness.
Marriage was designed to be a place of growth, not indulgence.
Refinement, not entitlement.
Oneness, not dominance.
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Guarding against what is deadly
Guarding a marriage isn’t about perfection.
It’s about awareness.
You can’t fight what you won’t name.
You can’t heal what you keep justifying.
And you can’t grow past what you refuse to confront.
That’s why I want to slow this down.
Not to accuse.
Not to shame.
But to examine.
Over the next seven posts, I want us to look at each deadly sin...
not in theory, but in marriage.
What it looks like when it shows up.
How it disguises itself.
What it does over time.
What Scripture says.
And how couples can guard against it...together.
Because sin thrives in secrecy.
But growth begins with light.
Marriage doesn’t need more pretending.
It needs more honesty, humility, and grace.
So this isn’t a call to point fingers.
It’s an invitation to look inward...
and then lean toward each other.
👣 Be Better. 💛 Love Better. 🙌🏾 Do Better. 💍Marriage Works.
Because guarding your marriage is an act of love.
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