31 Days to a Happy Marriage: Day 8: Vain Imaginations- What are they? - Part 1

Vain imaginations nearly destroyed my marriage before it even started.  I mentioned earlier that Jeremiah and I had an on-again-off-again dating relationship.  It was rough.  Lots of arguments, lots of break-ups and make-ups.  After about a year into our marriage, I asked God, "What in the world was all of that about?"  "What in the world happened?"

I got a simple answer.  "Vain imaginations."

I had NO idea what that was.  I had never really heard it taught before.  I had heard it in a sermon here and there, but never anything specifically about vain imaginations, at least nothing that really stuck out.

With my little knowledge about the topic, this is what I thought it was…

• Just a simple religious term that didn't mean much
• When someone thought of themselves as prettier than others; being conceited

I knew I needed to study it out.  After doing so, this is what I came up with...the 'Kristen' definition:

"Having a thought or idea about something or a situation and believing it is reality even though it may not line up with the truth of the Word of God.  And I mean REALLY BELIEVING it is truth – to you, it is."

Let me give you an example....

When I was pregnant with Emery, I was always burning up, hot!  I could never get cool enough.  I would have the AC turned to 68 and the ceiling fans constantly blowing.  Poor Jeremiah put up with me during that time.  He froze!  The truth of the matter was that it was really not hot.   I thought it was hot because of my hormones, but the TRUTH was that in all reality, it wasn't hot.

That's a vain imagination...you BELIEVE and even EXPERIENCE something as reality when it may not even be the truth.

Jonah 2:8 tells us, "They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy."

Vain imaginations can easily creep into relationships.  And when you observe them, or hold onto them, you'll forsake the very mercy you need to overcome them.  For mine and Jeremiah's relationship, I continually thought things were something that they weren't.  I compared him and our relationship to other's.  I made something that wasn't even real my reality.  And until I dealt with those vain imaginations, I lived a life of confusion.  I wasn't experiencing the peace of God.

This is how so many relationships fall into adultery   The wife sees someone else and thinks, "He's nice...he pays more attention to me than my husband does."  "The grass is greener."  The truth is, there's a septic tank feeding that grass to make it greener!  And, where you are, there you will be.  If you have issues with your spouse now, you'll just take them to the next person.

Vain imaginations will have you creating ideas in your head, putting words in other's mouth, believing that things are something that they aren't.  Vain imaginations will cause you to take everything personally, to hold onto offense, and manipulate to get what you want.  Vain imaginations are ugly!

Today I encourage you to ask yourself what areas you may have vain imaginations in your life.  Ask God to show you what areas you've labeled as "reality" in your marriage, but it's not the truth.  Be open for change and be open for happiness to come in!

Tomorrow we'll talk about practical ways to deal with vain imaginations!

These Willy Wonka pictures crack me up!

*Find a list with links to the other posts in this series here.*