For the benefit of all perfect husbands and perfect wives, you can stop reading now. This article is not for you. Go and find something else to do. This is for the less-than-perfect.
Some days, marriage can be spectacular. Some days, marriage can be tough. Often, we might suggest that the determining factor in whether our marriage is “spectacular” right now or “tough” right now is how my spouse is behaving or how my spouse is treating me. In other words, we take ourselves (our behavior, our treatment) out of the equation and lay the “blame” on him or her. If that’s how you determine the happiness of your marriage, how’s that working for you?
As Paul transitioned into the great marriage passage in Ephesians chapter five (in which he addresses specific matters to the “wives” and specific matters to the “husbands”), he first emphasizes Christians are to be “submitting to one another in the fear of God” (Eph. 5:21). For the instructions to husbands and wives to work, you must be willing to put your spouse above yourself (cf. Phil. 2:3-4). Now, THAT will make your marriage spectacular!