No Geri, you don’t have to “stand by your man”

Spice Girl Geri Halliwell’s marriage has been in the press recently, and while love does pull together and persevere through tough times, Sally Hope wonders, what are the behaviours we can expect - and excuse - within marriage?

The gossip column headlines right now allude to Geri Horner loyally standing by her man as he is accused of sending inappropriate whatsapp messages to a female employee. Many of us may naturally assume that this is the position any good Christian woman should take.

I would argue that it depends on whether you’re basing your marriage on the bible or the music of Tammy Wynette.

Ephesians 5:21 exalts married couples to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” . We are called to love one another as we love Jesus and as Jesus loves us. 1 Corinthians 13 is almost universally read during the marriage service, why?