There was a time when people said marriage was about dying to self. You don’t hear it much anymore, not because it stopped being true, but because we’ve forgotten what marriage really is. We think it’s about compatibility, chemistry, co-parenting, and maybe cohabitation if you’re feeling old-fashioned. But covenant? Sacrifice? Death to ego? That’s ancient language we’ve traded for comfort and convenience. Here’s what often gets missed: marriage only works when ego gets out of the way. And...

Resentment creates a constant fight-or-flight loop in the brain. The amygdala stays activated. The body doesn’t rest. People who live in long-term resentment develop what psychologists call “hostile attribution bias,” interpreting neutral or benign actions as malicious.

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” Madison was not writing about marriage. He was defending the U.S. Constitution, making the case for checks and balances in government. Yet the moment I read that line, my mind drifted to relationships.