Generosity: Turns Out It’s A Big Deal!

This is another post based on information from When Baby Makes Three, the 2011 State of Our Unions, a report from the National Marriage Project.

The reason this blog is “The Generous Husband” is because of my bride. Many years ago, she decided she wanted to become very generous and she decided to start with her family. A few years later, when she wanted to help other women, she struck upon the idea of sending out a daily e-mail with tips on how to be a more generous wife. Seeing it was a brilliant idea, I copied her, starting this blog.

But why generosity? Why did Lori decide that was the key to blessing those around her? She would blame God for that and I wouldn’t argue.

A decade and a half later, a study said my wife was right. The authors of the study said, “Generosity is an important and sometimes overlooked dimension of marriage and family life.” [emphasis mine] Generosity was defined as “the virtue of giving good things freely and abundantly” and was seen played out in:

• Small acts of service
• The expression of affection
• Displays of respect
• Willing to forgive mistakes and failings

How significant was generosity in marriage? The study listed it as the third most important in its top five top predictors of marital happiness. In marriages where generosity was below average, only 14% of husbands and wives said they were “very happy” in their marriage. In marriages where generosity was above average, 46% of husbands and 50% of wives said they were “very happy” in their marriage.

I could not agree more with the conclusion that the authors drew about generosity in marriage:

Thus, this report and other research suggest that one path to wedded bliss may be found by embracing an ethic of generosity that encompasses a spirit of service, frequent displays of affection, and a willingness to forgive the faults and failings of one’s spouse.

In this series:

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