₦airaland Forum

so, how does one acknowledge the importance of the body and soul, or their effects on our daily living?

or rather, how does one keep from letting the body and soul take over our spirit and by extension, everything else?

first is to remember when you repress both, the rebound effect will be stronger.



as Jesus attended a wedding and turned water into wine, we should not underestimate the importance of nurturing our soul and body the right way, in a manner which will not undermine our faith or portray us as unserious christians.

the end result should still be to glorify God, in all that we do, according to his will.

and also, when you do it right, people will acknowledge the presence of God made a difference, just like it did at Cana.

Why do Christians have so much relationship troubles?

why cant our spirituality help us in this area?



the saying man is a tripartite being is a common one.

spirit, soul and body make up the human being. These three interact to build the individual ecosystem.

in this world, nobody consists entirely of spirit, soul or body, instead what you have is one might dominate more in a person, at the expense of the others.


if you nuture your spirit only [supposedly], then the soul and body will be starved. And likewise with the other two, when you cultivate either of these, it will be at the expense of the remaining parts.

achieving a balance is not easy, and this is why so many christians struggle. When the soul or body "rebounds" after neglect, it will of necessity have a stronger pull from that "rebounding " effect. Many will fall at this point. Relationships will go haywire due to actions on the part of the christian or in his/her environment.

Here is what the bible has to say:

romans 8

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

14

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee

as mentioned before, Jesus attended this wedding after calling his disciples and being verified by John the baptist.

Gen 1

Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.

12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

this was the first mention of expansion in the creation account. Social activity begins. Prior to that was day 1, when God created light, and day 2 which was the separation of earth and sky.

Day 3 marked the beginning of life on earth. The first ecosystem began, with plants beginning to provide the base needed to support life.

ecosystem = social interaction, in ways that are necessary for the continuation of species.

Looking at these factors, we see why Jesus attended a wedding soon after beginning his ministry.

And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.

who was this master of the feast doing the ultimate taste test? We do not know, but what we do know is he is the one vetting the wedding and appraising its quality. Note, he was not one of Jesus' followers, but rather an outsider [not a christian].



Here is his comment:

“Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

in marriage, most times the good wine [figuratively speaking] is served through the honeymoon period, then its all bad wine and downhill from there.

when you allow God to control your relationship, the good wine lasts beyond the wedding reception and honeymoon phase.

The "afterwards" is not a sham intended to pull the wool over people's eyes while you're all "enduring" the bad wine of the marriage, but rather, its the time when people give God the glory for your union, and do not have a bitter taste in their mouth when talking of it. Their teeth are not set on edge.

Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.

The method Jesus used was very significant.

The Jewish rites of purification involved using water for ablution [washing of hands or other parts of the body]. These rites are reminiscent of baptism, which signifies washing away sin.

Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

one would wonder why the waterpots were empty to begin with, as the passage implies. Does that mean purification rites had not been done in a while by the occupants of that house, or were the pots only filled according to a strict schedule?

Whatever the case may be, no purification had been done for a while, possibly because everybody had been busy with other things.

For the christian, purification involves fasting and prayer, such as stated here:

1 cor 7

Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer

when you find the wine is lacking in your relationship possibly due to the cares of this world, your schedule, other unforeseen/uncontrollable things which get you down and are making people question God/your religion when they see your relationship, it may be time to purify yourself and ask Jesus for the miracle of Cana.

I would like to point out a few things, not sure how to expantiate on this passage.

1. Jesus and his disciples were invited to a wedding.

Tracing Jesus' movements before that wedding:

a. John bore witness to the start of his ministry
b. Jesus started gathering his disciples
c. then he attended the wedding in Cana.


At the wedding, Jesus performed a miracle, for the marriage. There was no wine, and one can imagine the mood the guests would be in if no drinks were available at the function.

Every marriage has a social dimension, in addition to the personal one everybody knows about, while relatively few understand the other aspect which is a social sphere.


By attending that wedding, Jesus recognized this social ecosystem of which marriage forms a fundamental part, regardless of the level of insight of the participants.


Providing wine for the marriage was a miracle which was necessary right then, and which also is not limited to that point in time, since many marriages these days are in need of the same.

John 2 :The wedding at Cana

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.

3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”

4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.

8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.

9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom

10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.

How Spiritual are Relationships, or, Spirituality and Relationships.



we often find, these days, Christians are the ones struggling in relationships, almost more so than non-Christians. The reason this is amazing is because by virtue of what we preach and profess, one would think our relationships and personal lives would be a demonstration of what we say about Jesus having the power to overcome all trials, temptations and tribulations.

so, when we find ourselves encountering difficulties in holding our personal lives together, is that a reflection on Jesus who we say we serve, or is it something that should be viewed as separate from our professed faith.

what's the write up trying to say?

better not start something funny for the industry.

^madam, i suppose i am the reason for your frustration in life.

be that as it may, i suggest you face the op with whatever sorry advice you have for her, instead of sitting on your haunches waiting for me to "be in the same situation". I dont see why the notion of examining yourself is such a scary one for you, care to share?


misery loves company, i know, but i doubt i have ever given the impression i would come online and do e wa bamidasi after being continually scammed by men, without looking at myself first.

believe it or not, life does go on, and not everyone is frustrated like you.

this is how you are when you dont have God, yet you insist on being a law unto yourself. Then when you reap the consequences, you start whining and looking for who will join you in your miserable state.

and dont be trying your witchery with me, because you will encounter a CAPITAL FAIL.

^i"m sure you want us to believe you're married.

Perhaps you hope to snag a would be boyfriend snatcher or husband snatcher that way.

What's your other, trouble making id here?


assuming of course, you're male.

Its understandable if there's no money, unnecessary if there is.

However, to each his own. One doesnt know the circumstances behind every decision.

Ok, i really do believe its possible for opposite genders to be just friends, however the particular context i am referring to is before marriage, not after.

If you are married and you're getting too close to a member of the opposite sex, then imo you're only buying yourself trouble.

While people are beating themselves up over other people's love lives, the folks in question are enjoying their celebrity status no doubt.

Might even celebrate with a night of noshing while some are crying on their behalf.

Excessiveness in thinking patterns can be a sign of mental imbalance or a tendency towards it.

Love and trust are two different things entirely.

Love is something you can have/give without being being dependent on it 's reciprocation, while trust is much weightier because it can have more consequences, depending on the actions of the object of that trust.

So, love and trust are not the same thing. Loving someone doesnt necessarily mean you have to trust them, shikena. What if you're actually enabling a bad habit by doing so.

^ people like you are the reason why the op keeps getting scammed by men.

You give her bad advice and prevent her from listening to those who dont.

Well, its up to her if she wants to examine herself or not, like i said, there's always two sides to every story.

True, its only God who can keep a marriage.

Now, having said that, we also have to address the question of why christians have so much trouble keeping their marriages when even stark unbelievers enjoy their own.

True that, just like you did.

Wow, what a wet blanket, hope you get the help you need.

Nairaland was there when you got married or when your spermatozoa was swimming up the canal or something?

What "encouragement" are you looking for, or you just want to find mugus who will post.

sanb: When a man/woman is born; cheating is not written on their fore-heads. A man/woman cheats because they want to not because they have to....so irrespective of the circumstances they find themselves in, when you consider both points I stated earlier on, then cheating won't look attractive neither would it be a do or die affair.....

We are saying the same thing, the only difference is imo being susceptible to flattery is a key factor in having a cheating mind.

But your enemies will also use the same method if they know it will get you.

However, if the man or woman who likes cheating, does not mind their ancestral enemy sending someone to help them with the habit, then good for them, afterall its their life to be lived as they wish.

This is the anti-christian section already, unless you need an extra one.

^creepy,

crackhaus: with young girls running around in thigh & cleavage revealing outfits...the young men themselves becoming smoother and more sophisticated in their approach and all.

well, everybody has to manage each other, or what to do?

the women insist on their right to wear nudie dressing and the men insist on their own right to use women anyhow.

its just something we all have to learn to live with.

of course marriage has to give way but the earth will not stop turning on that account.

Princessmel: I'm not selfish and I never said it was all about me. If I paid for someone to look better etc how is that selfish when it's the person benefitting and not me?

you're paying for someone to look "better"?

madam, if you have too much money, then give some to the needy who are all around you.

if you need links i can post some.

sanb: @Op fair points; but needless to say that a person who’ll cheat would still cheat even with all these points you’ve listed as prevention/s. It takes more than these points you’ve mentioned to hinder a married man/woman to stay faithful/loyal to their spouse. I always recant the 2 points below;

1). If you resolve in your heart that you wouldn't cheat on the one you love who means everything in the whole wide world to you; then you wouldn't; cos your self control instincts kicks in.....

2). When you think of the hurt and pain you’ll inflict on your innocent partner; then you try not to put yourself in a situation that would tempt you to cheat/engage in infidelity...…

My 2 cent….

i dont even see why the need for so much sentiment per se.

if you consider the fact that someone encouraging you to cheat may actually have been sent by the witches in your village as part of their mission to destroy you, would cheating look so attractive and like a do or die affair?

miss appear has an ability to disappear and reappear at will.

quite some skill there.

interesting, somewhat unusual.

they should give her igbo roles, or what's the thread about again?

btw seems someone is trying to edge her out of the jonathan spot which she worked so hard for, what's with that.

need answers, thanks.

anyone willing to manage my condition and take on this task?