Honoring Your Spouse

      How important is “honor” in a marriage relationship? What do we mean by honoring your spouse? People talk about commitment, respect, cherishing your spouse, but honor is a topic that is not commonly discussed or thought about. We will talk about what honor looks like in marriage and how to be sure that you honor your spouse every day of your life.

      My guest is Paul White. Paul and his wife Somphon have been married for more than 45 years. They are a mixed race couple; Paul had a black father and Native American mother and Somphon is of Asian descent. In the Asian culture, honor is extremely important and Paul will shed some light on how honor has been a priority in their marriage. Paul believes that without honor, marriage is not on solid ground.

      Paul White contributed 35 years of service to the government and has had a respectable career. He’s served in several United States Agency for International Development (USAID) positions around the world including Mexico, Japan, Peru, Panama, Cambodia and Vietnam. He was awarded the Order of the Million Elephants in Laos, and has received three Presidential Awards and a Distinguished Career Award from USAID. He has a Foreign Service ranking in five Asian languages and Spanish. After his retirement in 2003, he has been active in community and civic organizations. He serves on the Board of several well-known non-government organizations, is on an Editorial Board for scholarly research, and provides advisory services to USAID and other development agencies. He is a faculty advisor for international exchange programs.

      Paul has served his country and community honorably, and today we will talk about honor within marriage.