A Nagging Wife

Some time ago I read an account of a policeman, on the force for four years, who was well respected by his fellow officers and had recently been promoted to a position reflecting the conscientiousness with which he had been performing his duties.  He was well liked by all who knew him; he was a very outgoing and happy man, always greeting everyone with a smile and a genuine hello.  He was married with two young children, a daughter in pre-school and a son in kindergarten.

One day, while at home, this young officer, who seemed to have everything going for him, shot himself in the head with his service revolver.  All who knew him were stunned because there seemed to be no good reason for his suicide.  But at his funeral all present listened to the wife express a litany of unwarranted complaints about her husband; she had daily expressed her dissatisfaction while her husband tried everything to assuage her nagging, to no avail.  His depression grew to a point where he saw no other way out but suicide.

How many people are there who nag and are unable to see the damage they do while at the same time are reluctant to seek help from others?  How many people are unwilling to talk to others about depression due to some conflict they fail to understand?

It seems that too many of us fail to recognize that we do not have the innate ability to evaluate our own faults and need the wisdom of others to point them out without them making damaging judgements about those faults.  But what is it that keeps us from seeking help?  Is it shame?  Or is it for the most part pride?  A false pride that makes us feel we can handle ourselves and or problems without help from anyone?

That is why I believe that faith in God is so important.  Faith in a Person who is all Love, Understanding, Wisdom, Mercy, Truth, Justice and Forgiveness leads us to understand that we cannot, by ourselves alone, do anything; God wants our love and He promises to help us if we understand our need for Him.  Once we understand this need, it is not hard to understand that we need to seek help from others whose faith in God can in turn help us recognize our faults.