A lot of husbands can't seem to find the right balance between work and family life. On their wedding day, they made a promise to uphold their wives and prioritise their families. But when reality sank in, they chased after their dreams and neglected their duties as husbands.
Dale Partridge, Christian author and founder of Start Up Camp, said that entrepreneurship can be a dangerous thing for an immature husband. "Without knowing it, he could put profession before person, profit before priority, and dreams before the devotion to his very own wife," he wrote on his website.
Partridge said he is speaking from experience. Because he wanted badly to succeed in life and pursue his passion, he said he unwittingly destroyed his marriage. Even though he was gaining the whole world, Partridge said he found himself losing his wife.
"While we don't have the time to indulge in all the details of our marriage's revival, I will tell you the solution occurred through the gentle rebukes of an older man not giving in to my excuses or manipulations. He forced me to face the reality of my commitments through the eyes of my beliefs and essentially broke my own heart with my own actions," he said.
He added that his transformation took place because he had a healthy and real fear for the Lord, and he began to cherish his wife and lead their family well. Partridge is now sharing what he applied in his marriage and business that made the two things mesh.
First, he applied oneness in his marriage. "A spirit of independence has no place within a marriage," he said. "Now, I don't mean a husband and wife must submit themselves to some unrealistic uniformity. Furthermore, I don't mean we should abolish the need for leadership within a marriage. What I am saying is we must be of one mind."
Because of this, Partridge invited his wife into his passion and he yielded his heart into her desires in the matter. In doing so, Partridge assured his wife that he will never get lost in something that does not include her.
Second, he offered his wife protection. Partridge does not mean this only in the literal sense. He explained: "The statistics are clear, 85 percent of affairs begin at work. Men, as the owner of your business and the provider for female employees, it's easy to place yourself into a heroic position in the eyes of a woman who may already have favour toward you."
Whenever men leave their homes to build up their businesses, their wives must feel confident in their position. Husbands must be proactive in proclaiming their love for their wives.
Lastly, Partridge said husbands should prioritise their wives. A lot of men proudly proclaim that their list of priorities goes like this: "God, family, friends, work." But sadly, Partridge said a lof of wives never felt the effects of that list.
"Men, we must realize that the report card of respect comes not from the size of our paychecks, but the level of radiance from the woman we claim to be priority in our lives. She is the symbol of your success. She is your life's greatest achievement," he said.
He admitted that marriage is a challenging commitment in the face of entrepreneurship, but at the end of the day, businesses should never compromise one's marriage.
