Overlooking minor offenses in your marriage relationship

I don't remember much from our premarital counseling sessions before our wedding day, but the one point our pastor stressed repeatedly was to not allow the “molehills” of marriage to become mountains. I didn't know what he was talking about, but I do now. I can't say I've done well with applying this truth, but I'm starting to understand it better 14 years into our marriage journey.

It’s wild how one minuscule petty argument can turn into a volcanic eruption. Minor offenses like towels left on the floor, what qualifies as expired food or not, missing car keys, annoying habits, miscommunication, forgetfulness and more ... all these examples have turned into mountains in our marriage at one point or another and made me think, “Oh, our pastor was right!”

I’ve had to stop in the heat of the moment and ask myself, is this worth fighting over? Sometimes it’s not until after the eruption ... but still ... both of us have been guilty of gripping tightly to small offenses.

Proverbs 19:11 teaches us that it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense: “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense” (ESV).

There are some things worth being upset over in life, but there are many things that just aren’t worth it.

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