"Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright.” Proverbs 14: 9

After 17 years of marriage, I can look back and say that it was my job to love my husband, Paul. Not to change him. And it was God’s job to make him good and my responsibility to express goodwill – not condemnation.

Was I a woman of goodwill?

I was tested by this “goodwill” question when I married a Christian Nice Guy (CNG) seventeen years ago.  A CNG, you might ask?  I didn’t realize that the daily abuse my husband suffered as a child would affect our everyday life together. What I thought were such “nice” Christian qualities in my husband when we married turned into frustrations and fireworks because of my husband’s passive approach to life. Oh, don’t get me wrong.  My husband had amazing qualities, so that to this day I have never looked back. 

What exactly is goodwill in a marriage?

Goodwill is a tangible, practical expression of love. Helpfulness, concern, care, friendly disposition – are all related to goodwill and all lead to intimacy.  It is the willingness to act in a spirit of cooperation, instead of trying to win arguments. It is proactive, alive, and dynamic. Goodwill is not a passive attribute. Goodwill is among the most concrete ways of expressing love and fostering intimacy, yet when we think about this word, we think of used clothing. 

How do you know if you have it?

The will to do “good” toward your spouse is more than having good feelings for him (thank goodness). Though good feelings are important, goodwill also includes kindness, consideration, thoughtfulness, and practical support. This is wonderful news for CNG wives, because controlling how we feel is often harder than exerting our will to determine our good actions. 

It’s okay and even normal to have mixed feelings about my/your husband at times. For me, being an assertive woman, I found myself frustrated in this passive marriage. My husband lived under the radar of life. He felt that if he lived life safely, his problems would be few. And this affected the intimacy between us, though we both yearned for more depth in our relationship.

Intimacy is a choice, and you have to be available, present and vulnerable with one another. My CNG didn’t always feel safe with me, so it was easier for him to not always “show up.”  It was difficult for him to make his wants and needs known and he didn’t always come clean with how he felt.  I found myself often walking on eggshells - not a fun way to live.