Real Estate Innovation

Secrets to a good marriage

Everytime somebody in our clan gets married, my grandfather is always asked to give a speech on secrets to a good marriage. Believe it or not he gives the same speech every time he is asked to speak.“

The secret to a good marriage according to him is S.A.L.T. Usually he begins with this story.

An old king one day asked his three daughters how much they loved him. The first daughter said that he loved his father as much as she loves all the gold in the kingdom. The second daughter said that he loved her father as much she loves all the silver in the kingdom. The king was so delighted with both of his daugters. Finally the youngest daughter was asked how much she loves him. The youngest daughter said that she loves her father as much as she loves salt. The king was furious with this response, imagine comapring her love to that of the lowly salt. So she banished her youngest to serve in the kitchen.

The cook was instructed by the king’s youngest daughter, not to put salt in all the king’s dishes. As the days passed along, the king slowly loss his appetite for the food. Because of this he became very sick.He then asked the cook why the food did not taste as delicious as before. The cook explained to him that his youngest daughter’s instructed the kitchen staff not to put salt in all the meals that was served before the king. Upon knowing this, the king was so angry, and the youngest daughter was asked to explain why she did this. The youngest daughter simply said that she was just demonstrating her love for his father. She wanted the king to know that he cannot live without salt and that was how much she loved him. Finally the king understood how much his youngest daughter loved him.

With that introduction, my grandfather then goes to the main topic that is the keys to a successful, loving and a good marriage which is “SALT.” He then goes to the body of his message by giving meanings to each letter of the word SALT.

S - Share - Husbands and wives must share invidual blessing that they recieve with each other. They must share not only physical things but good experiences as well. They have to remember that when they enter married life, they are considered as one flesh. Sharing also speaks of helping each other with the burdens and responsibilities in the marriage.

A - Attention - While it is normal for the husband and wife to spend some time with their friends or their interest, they must give the bulk of their attention to each other. Sometimes the wife complains that the husband just comes home and sits in front of the T.V watching sports. Or the husband complains that the wife keeps on chatting with her friends on the phone.

L - Live within your means - Statistics has shown that the number one cause of quarrels between couples is money problems. Before and after marriage, each couple must sit down and set some guidelines as to how money should be handled. In order to avoid any serious conflict, a budget has to be set and expenses should be contained within the budget without also forgetting to set aside some money for emergency savings and investments.

T - Trust - Trust is the most important factor in a good marriage. Distrust shatters another person’s confidence. But if spouses continue to trust in each other then they will continue to achieve greater heights.

While the principles of S.A.L.T may look simplistic however it is proven to work as my grandparents has applied it in their marriage and they had a good strong marriage which stood the test of time. It is my hope and prayer that you apply the principle of salt in your respective marriage as well.