How to make your marriage work – A review

Book Title: How to make your marriage work : a practical guide to a better marriage

Author: Pastor Michael Nwimoh
Reviewer: Adebayo Obajemu

How to Make Your Marriage Work: A Practical Guide to a Better Marriage is neither Moses Maimonides’ ‘Guide to the Perplexed’ nor Paulo Freire’s ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’. while it shares the two groundbreaking works mentioned above in the thoroughness and breadth of thematic treatment, it profoundly hits the roof in that it goes beyond Maimonides’ revelatory guide to ‘enlightenment’ and Freire’s concerns with the pedagogical nature of education as a way of liberation from oppression.

This important work discusses the path to inner truth of marriage whose foundations are laid according to scriptural precepts.
The core of it is the book’s insistence on the conviction that a successful marriage is the foundation of a good society, given that family is the gatekeeper to wider society.

It’s a well nuanced manual on the components- both spiritual and practical, psychological and psychical to constructing a successful marriage anchored on the design of the Almighty God.
Drawing extensively from the author’s rich repertoire of insights, the didactic experiences of others as witnessed or told the author as well as from the Scripture, the scripter builds an aesthetical architecture, aesthetical not in the sensual sense, but in the sense of divine order, of what God designs a marriage to be – a reflection of the divine affinity between Christ and the Church.
Once a marriage, according to the author follows this path of divine order, it becomes successful, since such marriage is dead to the fault lines, deficiencies of each partner in the relationship, turning such into components to build strong relationship.
In other words, a marriage anchored on the precepts of divine order does not see faults and foibles of others, but rather emphasizes each other’s strength, lovely works on the weaknesses instead of pinpointing faults.

According to the book, marriage is much more than a union between a woman and a man, it has much greater significance in the divine order than the usual earthy perception, the author proves it intelligently that is a sacred institution, a divine calling, which foreshadow the union of Christ and the Church.

In this way, it logically follows that there’s element of intentionality, humility, and rock solid anchorage on God’s principles in every successful marriage.

As one brilliant reviewer puts it “One of the book’s greatest strengths is its ability to seamlessly blend biblical truth with actionable advice. The author doesn’t just quote Scripture; he unpacks it in ways that are relevant to modern marriages. For example, the emphasis on Genesis 2:18—“It is not good for man to be alone”—is used to highlight the importance of companionship and mutual support in marriage. Similarly, the discussion on Ephesians 5:31–32 beautifully ties the mystical union of husband and wife to the broader relationship between Christ and the Church. These reflections don’t remain abstract but are grounded in practical steps couples can take to strengthen their bond.
Emphasis on Oneness and Sacrifice.” The foregone perspective captures the tenor of this brilliant offering on marriage, and the author must be commended for it .
As brilliant as the book is, it suffers from some repetition of points, but that doesn’t detract from the importance of the book as one of best manuals on how to build a successful marriage.
The author discountenances the societal pressure on marriage and urged couples to go beyond social pressure and align with the will of God. In simple terms, couples should align with and reflect God’s wish rather than seeking the mundane needs to satisfy the society at the expense of the precepts of the Almighty.

To quote one reviewer, “The recurring theme of “oneness” is particularly compelling. The author challenges readers to move beyond superficial notions of love and friendship to pursue true unity—spiritually, emot