08/10/2026
I have this uncle that I’m very close to, and we talk a lot. He tells me things about men and relationships—things that, if a man starts behaving a certain way towards me, I should already understand what is going on.
There is something this uncle of mine always tells me. He says, “Favour, lack of money in marriage can make you cheat on your husband.”
And he would tell me about some of the married women he has been involved with in the past. According to him, some of them come to him because they need financial help. Their children are sick. There are problems at home. Their husbands cannot provide for certain things. And sometimes, these women become willing to submit to him just because he is able to solve their financial problems.
Now, anytime I talk about not settling for less, a lot of people look at me somehow.
But the truth is, I am not willing to become a person I don't want to become because of marriage.
I always tell people that marriage can either make you see heaven or make you feel like you're in hell. And I'm not saying marriage is supposed to be perfect or that there won't be difficult seasons. No. But if I'm getting married, I want to get married with the hope that I can serve God without constantly being pushed into compromising the values I had as a single woman.
I don't want to enter marriage and then discover that marriage has turned me into the exact person I refused to become when I was single.
And it's not even just about cheating on my husband.
For instance, how can I start going back to my ex or somebody I have known in the past to ask for financial help when I'm married?
Honestly, one of the first things I think about is: How will that person look at my husband?
I'm not married yet, but I already have this kind of respect in my heart for my future husband. I wouldn't want someone to look down on my husband because I had to come to that person for help.
Imagine going to someone who knows my husband and saying, “Please, I need money. My child is sick. I need to solve this family problem.”
And then imagine becoming so desperate that you're even willing to compromise your body just to get that help.
How will that person respect my husband afterwards?
These are some of the things I think about.
So when I say I don't want to deliberately enter a marriage where both of us are going to struggle financially, it is not because I am afraid of suffering.
I am not afraid of suffering.
I know that life happens. A man can lose his job. A business can fail. Unexpected things can happen. I understand that.
But there is a difference between going through a difficult season with someone who has vision, capacity, responsibility and a plan for the future, and deliberately entering a marriage with someone when you already know that there is no financial direction and both of you are going to constantly struggle.
Because there are certain circumstances that can arise in a family where money is needed urgently.
And when you're not financially okay, sometimes you will have to beg.
As a single woman, if things become difficult and I don't want to ask anyone for help, I can decide to endure that season. I can manage. I can find another way.
And honestly, as a single woman, I can ask someone from my past for help if I need it. There are people who have been in my life that I have also helped before. There is nothing strange about asking for help when you're single.
But marriage changes certain boundaries.
When I become someone's wife, there are certain things I don't see myself doing anymore.
And the biggest thing is this:
No mother will sit down and watch her child die simply because she doesn't want to ask somebody for help when she knows there is an option available.
That's why I think some of us are scared.
It's not that we are scared of suffering.
We are scared of the kind of decisions extreme financial pressure can force us to make.
We are scared of entering a marriage where our values will constantly be tested by circumstances.
So when I say I don't want to settle for less, please understand what I mean.
I'm not saying I need a man who has everything today.
I'm saying I want to be able to look at the man I'm marrying and see vision, responsibility, capacity, wisdom and potential.
Because I don't just want to marry a man.
I want to marry someone with whom I can build a life without constantly being afraid of what desperation might make either of us become.
Esther’sgeneration416