Why Two Are Better Than One - Crosswalk Couples Devotional - August 29

Why Two Are Better Than One
By Lynette Kittle

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor”—Ecclesiastes 4:9

Many in our world today are staying single, thinking it’s the better way to go, offering more individual freedoms and control over their own lives, urged by the masses to look out for themselves first, to do what’s best for them, and to not let anyone pull them down or get in the way of their goals for their lives.

Overall, marriage is frowned on by many, looked on by some as outdated, unnecessary, and too constraining, offering no immediate or long-term benefits.           

Still, God’s word says that two are better than one? If so, why is it better? What benefits come with two over one?

As singles look for answers to this question, we as Christian couples can be ready and prepared to give them truthful ones, by helping them to better understand God’s plan for marriage, and to help them recognize and see the benefits and blessings of being a couple with two, rather than one, revealing God’s wisdom and goodness to them.

10 Ways Two Are Better than One

The following are ten ways why two are better than one and how they benefit our marriages and lives together.

1. Two bring companionship. God recognized the importance of having human companionship on earth, recognizing how it benefits our lives to have someone close by, declaring in Genesis 2:18, “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”
2. Two give counsel. Most of us find it helpful to have someone we can talk things over with and with two we have that opportunity and comfort. As Amos 3:3 reveals, “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?”
3. Two sharpen. Sometimes left to our own thinking, without input and interjections from another, causes us to go off course. Another person who sees both the good and the bad in us helps us to grow and mature as individuals, helping to file down the negative, and nurture the positive in our personalities. Proverbs 27:17 reminds us that, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”
4. Two lift. As Ecclesiastes 4:10 explains, “If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”
5. Two offer encouragement. Sometimes we just need another person to encourage us and with two, we have someone to walk along side us. As 1 Thessalonians 5:11 instructs, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
6. Two look out for each other. Left alone, many of us become self-focused, looking out for ourselves above others. But with two, we’re put in a position where there is someone else we need to look out for, which helps us to grow and mature as we learn to consider the good of another, as Philippians 2:4 urges us to do.
7. Two help carry burdens. With another by our side, we don’t have to carry the heaviness of the world all on our own. Together, two help each other with the load of everyday life, along with the unexpected things that arise in life. As Galatians 6:2 urges, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
8. Two provide prayer support. Someone else offers us the luxury of having someone to confess to and pray with 24/7 hours a day, helping us to do as James 5:16, urges us to “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
9. Two are spiritually powerful together. When a husband and wife agree, asking God, Matthew 18:19, says something remarkable happens. “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”
10. Two provide an atmosphere for God’s presence. Scripture tells us that God is present when two of us join together, coming to meet with us. As Jesus says in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gather in My name, there am I with them.”

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for the gifts and benefits of two. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/PeopleImages

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.

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