Jerry Bridges writes in The Discipline of Grace:

My wife and I went shopping for a coffee table. We'd agreed on the style we wanted and very quickly found one at a price within our range.

I'm the type of person who's ready to buy as soon as I find what I like, but my wife's a "shopper." She likes to look at everything in the store. Sure enough, she soon came upon her "dream" coffee table, a rather uncommon design that she'd dreamed about for years but never thought she'd own. But, as you might guess—and as is always the case—it was more expensive.

I started talking about being good stewards of the money God has given us, but God started "talking" to me (through the convicting work of his Spirit) about husbands loving their wives, just as Christ loved the Church.

As I worked through that situation, I realized that one of the concrete ways I was to love my wife was to be more sensitive to her dreams and desires. I sensed that in that particular situation God was more desirous that I learn about what it means for husbands to love their wives than he was that I excel in being a good steward of his resources.