Everyday, I scroll through Facebook, and I'm bombarded with yet another woman announcing her undying love and devotion for her significant other. Now I won't say that's a bad thing. Love is love, and love is beautiful. However, the "he completes me" posts are where I begin to lose my patience.

I guess as a follower of Christ, I see relationships in a different way. I do not want to devalue the incredible, mind-blowing essence that love is. But if you're a Christian, and your man or woman "completes" you, then I don't think you're fully grasping the greatness of God. I love my boyfriend, but I don't put him first. And let me tell you why.

I don't put him first, because that is way too much pressure to put on a sweet 23-year-old guy from Greenville, Mississippi. He is only a man. He can do so many good things for me, like making me feel safe, making me feel loved, cooking for me, speaking life into me, praying for me, and so much more. But he is just a man. Even on his best day, he will never do what only God can. He will never provide me with salvation. And ultimately, as harsh as it sounds, I have no guarantee that he will love me forever. I can pray for that, hope for it, and certainly, anticipate and plan for it, but never guarantee it. But friends, that is the beauty of putting Christ first. I don't have to sit here and hope and pray that God will love me tomorrow because He is already there and He already does.

The fact is that my boyfriend and I are both two imperfect people who have fallen completely in love with each other. I hope to spend my life with him, and I plan to do just that. But we are so imperfect. He does things like snore.. loudly. He also has a bad habit of leaving his shoes absolutely everywhere. I have a habit of interrupting people when they talk, and I'm also extremely demanding (thank you, only child syndrome). If we relied on our love alone to be the rock and foundation of our relationship, we would fail, and we have failed, a number of times. Because things won't always be perfect between each other, we won't always like each other. And that's okay. Because we know that God comes first, and even on the days where I won't let him get a word in, and he leaves his work shoes right in the doorway, making me want to claw his eyes out; we know that we won't tear each other down and throw the relationship away over something so petty. Because our worth is not tied to our relationship. And our happiness is not tied to each other. Both our worth and our happiness are tied to Christ alone.

So if you put your boyfriend first, and if he's your whole world, it might be nice for a while. That all-consuming, self-serving, never-ending, fairy tales and rainbows romance will be really nice for a time. But that will not last forever. Put Christ at the center, and watch your relationship soar past your expectations. Love your boyfriend, but love God first. Cherish your boyfriend, but cherish God first. Spend time with your boyfriend, but spend time with God first. Because as much as you love him, and as good as it feels at the time, God is the One that will never leave. God is the One who can sustain you (Psalm 55:22). He can handle the burdens and the problems that might be too much or too heavy for your significant other to carry. He was built for that. We weren't made to carry our own burdens, and we definitely were not made to carry someone else's. So cast your cares on Him, put Him first, and stop putting the weight of the world on our partner's shoulders. Then watch how your relationships prosper.