Africa University

College of Social Science, Theology, Humanities and Education (CSSTHE)

Institute of Theology and Religious Studies
NTPT 570: Pastoral Care of Marriage and Family
Lecturer: Dr. Chazani Ndlovu

Student name and ID: Nelly Okongo 170753

Second Assignment question: Question: Watch the movie written by Tyler Perry
“Temptation confessions of a marriage counselor” (2013) and answer the following
questions:

a) What is your prediction of what could have prompted a marriage breakdown in this
movie? (30 Marks)

b) What is your diagnosis of the marriage commitment of Judith and her husband? (30

Marks)

c) Develop a couples counselling plan for the main characters in the movie. (40 Marks)

Due Date: 15 April 2023

Answer the question satisfactorily and in detail.

Send the assignment through my email on or before the due date.

ndlovuc@africau.edu

Page 1 of 9
As to start with in the movie written by Tyler Perry “Temptation Confession of a marriage
counselor 2013” is a film that tells the story of Judith, an Ivy League-educated relationship
specialist who earns a fortune giving marital advice but is so bored with her own marriage
that she breaks her professional code and cheats on a smooth-talking client, only to realize
she has made a terrible mistake. This Confessions of a Marriage Counselor is a captivating
love story that delves straight into the core of passionate passion. It is a daring examination of
the fascination and perils of adultery. It is about a woman who becomes restless in her
relationship, and her decision to be with another man has a significant impact on the rest of
her life. She embarks on a journey in her career and in her marriage and finds herself in an
unexpected place. In a departure from his earlier works, Perry explores the essence of desire
and how strong and frightening a taste of the forbidden can be. It is a fact that a lot of people
suffer in their relationships, yet they make poor decisions in their marriages. They decide to
divorce, and so many of them do not take a step back and consider the repercussions of what
they are doing. With that having been said, this paper will be divided into three different
parts, the first will bemaking a prediction of what could have prompted a marriage
breakdown in this movie, and then the second part will be a diagnosis of the marriage
commitment of Judith and her husband, and lastly, it will develop a couples counseling plan
for the main characters in the movie.

a) What is your prediction of what could have prompted a marriage breakdown in this
movie? (30 Marks)

The movie begins in a dilapidated office where a marriage counselor is counseling a couple.
The husband walks out due to an argument, and the counselor sees a shift in the wife's mood
once the husband is gone. The counselor notices that the wife has met someone and wishes to
tell her a story about her sister, Judith.

And coming into the story which was the main purpose of the movie I would firstly say that
Judith let the temptation of the rich guy (Harley) get the best of her which led to her own fall.
If she did not let her temptations get the best of her it could not have led to the serious
downfalls that they were in with her husband. From the beginning of the movie, we are
introduced to a married couple Judith and Brice. An ideal couple that has been together since
they were teenagers and seem to be madly in love. They live a middle-class life as Judith
works as a therapist and Brice as a pharmacist. Judith is known as a nice Christian girl who

Page 2 of 9
is never been with any man except Brice, this made her the perfect catnip for Harley, a social-
media billionaire who came calling ostensibly to invest in Janice’s company, but quickly
makes a bigger offer to get Judith into the sack, this where it started.

If Judith could have discussed her unhappiness with her husband, letting him know that she
needed more attention than what she was getting it was also going to be better. Every
character in this movie played a big role in the downfall of Judith and Brice’s marriage. I saw
Miss Janice whose company helped married men to get dates, which Judith was even
surprised about in the first place, not only Janice was using girls in her company to increase
her wealth without considering the bad side of her action. And Judith being desperate for
money and starting up her own business felt for it and found herself as an HIV/AIDS victim.

Then, also Harley used his money to bribe the company owner to achieve his goal of
destroying Judith’s marriage and future, he will continuously tell Judith how her marriage is
boring and that he could give her anything she ever wanted. Suddenly she realizes that even
though she loves her husband, she is bored and desires more. She starts having an affair with
Harley and he begins to spoil her with expensive trips, jewelry, clothes, and anything she
wants. Judith thought she was happy but it is really her desires taking over her and she soon
faces the consequences. Harley soon demands that she leave her husband to be with him but
she doesn’t want to. Her husband finds out about the affair and they argue until she leaves
him to be with Harley.

If also the husband took action as soon as he realized he was losing his wife, he was going to
save his wife’s life and their marriage, he could have stopped and asked questions about what
is making the wife change out of the blow for this is a person he knows since childhood so
the possibility of saving was there but he never took action. He only comes to realize in
acting to save the life of her wife wen it’s too late, as Harley grows angry at Judith over a
disagreement and starts to beat her. He turns very abusive towards her especially when she
tells him that she is leaving him. As he is beating her in a scene, Brice happens to come by
and demands that he stop hurting her, he saves her life.

The time Judith finds out that she has HIV which was contracted from her affair with Harley,
it was already too late for both the husband and the wife even if Brice loved his wife and
willing to save the marriage he could have done better than that and intervene much earlier
than that, even that same night he told her I have never seen you like this, meaning he knew
something was wrong and never took the necessary action to prevent it. Though Harley

Page 3 of 9
seemed perfect he was far from it, he abused her, gave her HIV, and ended her marriage. She
faced many downfalls because she could not handle her temptations and remained happy with
what she had. If a couple constantly let their temptations influence them it will only lead to
destruction, and that could happen to anyone who is not mindful of their actions. The movie
showed me that our selfish impulses can cause disaster. Though the outcome may not be as
extreme as in the movie, it gives a sense that our temptations can cause pain.

In conclusion of this prediction, I would say that as temptation is defined as a strong urge or
desire to have or do something. Most people experience temptations in their lives whether big
or small. Temptation is simply a flaw that we as humans are going to experience because we
are not perfect and crave what we don’t have. However, how that individual handles that
certain craving shows a lot about their character. Though we all experience temptations, it is
up to us to make mindful decisions about what is in our best interest as it is presented above
in the movie, a lot of things led to the downfall of the marriage of Judith and Brice, and by
this we understand that temptation started with a small thing that Judith ignored from the start
with Healy and ended up on the trump.

Page 4 of 9
b) What is your diagnosis of the marriage commitment of Judith and her husband? (30

Marks)

Firstly, they were not having effective communication, from the beginning some of their
conversations was on individual plans and dreams, with Judith talking of her desire to create
her own practice and advance. Brice informs her that they will be more established in 10 to
15 years. He then chooses to take Judith to a $5.99 buffet for supper. Following dinner,
several young thugs make a sexual remark to Judith, who wants to respond, but Brice urges
her to walk it off and let it go, but she was never happy about it.

They got into the habit of solely talking about Judith’s mother, jobs, or not at all. Day-to-day
disappointments and concerns became bottled-up resentments in the absence of appropriate
dialogue. Addressing pent-up emotions later was far more difficult than if they worked
through them on time. For, the husband could not remember his wife’s birthday, and the wife
could not remind him that it was her birthday soon they were both busy with money and
forgot the key element that made they are relationship strong, such as going out together
joking laughing as on their teen’s age.

Secondly, they started to dislike spending time together, it was clear that they no longer had
time for each other though both find it to be normal. Judith has the courage to go pick up
when Healy called to have sex with him while sitting right next to her husband in the living
room tells that there was no affection again in spending time together. Yet Even if you are
married, spending time alone is beneficial. If, on the other hand, you find yourself avoiding
spending time with your partner or even making up excuses not to be with them, there are
usually deeper reasons for this in this case, Judith was now getting more attention from Healy
than the husband while the husband in his ignorance find it normal until it was too.

Judith and Brice did not consider why they were no longer wanting to spend time with.
Without even noticing that they will get into fights when you spend too much time together,
as it shown when Judith mother visited. Failure to identify the reasons they don't want to be
around each other proved that they were both no longer committed to the marriage which
contributed to their downfall. Their certain things that should not be under-estimated in
marriage for it what can help you get to the bottom of your relationship's problems.

Page 5 of 9
Thirdly they were no longer praying together not to talk of going to church, both busy with
business to have more money. A good marriages is also that which the husband and wife do
not pray together as frequently as they would like, there is no any poor marriages in which
the husband and wife pray together all of the time. One of the key point that shows lack of
commitment of Judith and Brice was in the clear fact that they forgot about God, in fact the
place where they met at a young age.

Fourthly they start keeping Secrets or Lying, yes in marriage one has the right to keep some
things private just because they choose to, forgetting the negative effect of their action. Judith
starts to lie each time she wants to go see Healy yet in marriage, if you find yourself lying to
your partner on a regular basis, look into why. Are you unhappy in your relationship but are
terrified of how they would react if you tell them? Do you not trust them with sensitive
information? Judith never noticed where all that was leading their marriage to, and neither do
the husband, although he said once in a while you have changed I never known you to be like
this. On another hand, Judith did not consider what others would think of her partner if they
only heard her talk about him. What Healy had her saying med him to start feeding her mind
with information that later seduced her.

They no longer arranged a surprise for each other, to the point of Brice forgetting his wife’s
birth date. Judith receives flowers from another guy and thinks it was the husband who sent it
also a clear sign that there was no commitment. They were no longer surprised each other
with gifts, special outings, surprise kiss, or arriving home early, Judith was now more of my
boss and then my boss to the point of forgetting to even cook for the husband.

However, the movie has a lot of meaningful messages to be interpreted among which lack of
commitment. It shed light on the dangers that can come out of relationships like infidelity and
domestic abuse. It also showed the impact of HIV and unknowingly contracting it. Judith had
an average life with a decent husband but she craved more and in the end, her infidelity led to
her downfall. Our rebellious choices may cost a heavy price and this is what is witnessed
throughout the movie. She also experienced domestic violence from her lover which is never
okay, just because she failed to be committed to her marriage.

Page 6 of 9
c) Develop a couples counselling plan for the main characters in the movie. (40 Marks)

The main characters of the movie are Brice and Judith. In a rundown office, a marriage
counselor counsels a young married couple, Bradley and Lisa. After the husband walks out of
the room, unwilling to participate, the counselor notices a change within the wife's face. The
marriage counselor can tell that she has met someone else and decides to tell her a story about
her sister, Judith. However, here the paper is presenting a counseling plan for Judith and
Brice, and before going any further I would say that partners in successful marriages are more
positive than negative about one another. And this emotional intelligence can be seen, even in
relatively short interactions. After all, a positive attitude radiates through all areas of the
relationship: play, romance, learning, and adventure. With that in mind, marriage counseling
provides a vital opportunity to observe couples’ interactions, assess where conflict arises, and
agree on the steps required to meet both partners’ needs.

As start with the following questions can be shared during the counseling session between
Brice and Judith now that both know one of the partners is an HIV/AIDs patient, but they
should be encouraged to come up with a personalized list in advance of the session: What are
the biggest problems in our marriage? Do we want to stay together? This is shown by the
expression that Judith presented towards her husband sin she started having extra-marital
affairs with Healy. Unhappy with Brice's inattentiveness, Judith sneaks out to meet Harley
and they have sex again and Harley introduces Judith to cocaine. He demands that she leave
Brice and offers to help with her business. When she feels like she shouldn't, Harley tells her
to leave and she becomes upset and starts throwing drinks and food at him. Back at home,
Judith and her mother Sarah get into an argument over Harley, and about Sarah having
abandoned Judith's father for the Lord years ago, which leads to Sarah slapping Judith and
leaving. Judith refuses to discuss the argument with Brice and goes to take a shower. She
later leaves him to be with Harley. All these need to be understood by both partners and what
led to the situation they are in, finding out or determining their biggest problem can help
them solve their differences and as well help Brice to decide either to stay with Judith
knowing she is an HIV positive or not.

The next step would be helping Brice and Judith to determine if the situation they are in is a
temporary phase or is it something more permanent? And also help them identify when did
all these problems start? Which one can tell from the movie that it started when Judith meets

Page 7 of 9
Harley at her work. Harley, a wealthy Internet entrepreneur who wants to invest in Janice's
business, attempts to seduce Judith as they work late on matchmaking surveys. When Harley
questions the absence of sex in the surveys, Judith says she does not believe in premarital sex.
Harley says Judith's sex life is boring. Judith, now questioning her sex life with Brice, tries to
improve it, but fails. If Judith shared all this from the start with the husband the situation was
going much easier to handle than it was, although my Job as a couselor is not to judge and
prove who is right and who is wrong. But the question of knowing when did all this start will
of course help them know if it is a permanent issue or not. They will as well need to ask
themselves if they are able to overcome the situation in other to save their marriage and the
question will be: Do you believe we can save our marriage? Because in this case, we see that
Melinda (Healy’s ex-boyfriend) comes over to cook for Brice. She says she contracted HIV
from her ex, who is revealed to be Harley. Brice breaks into Harley's place with Melinda and
finds Judith in the bathroom bloody and bruised. After taking Judith to his truck, Brice goes
back into the house and begins to beat Harley until he is stopped by Melinda. As Harley
regains consciousness, he calls out to Melinda, whose real name is Karen. Brice threatens
him to stay away from both Karen and Judith and they leave him, lying on the floor beaten
and still semi-conscious. The time Brice tried to come in other to try and save their marriage
the situation was already worse than before and therefore it up to them to determine to wither
their marriage can be saved or not.

However, when the movie cut back to the present day, the marriage counselor has finished
the story and Lisa wonders how the story ends. The marriage counselor tells her that Judith
contracted HIV as well, but not Brice. Lisa thanks the marriage counselor and decides to stay
with her husband. The marriage counselor revealed to be the older Judith then goes to the
pharmacy to get her HIV medicine for her cell count from Brice. Judith tells Brice she has
now decided to follow the path of her savior, God. After they speak, a woman and a little boy
walk into the pharmacy, revealed to be Brice's new wife and child, making it clear that they
have divorced. In front of Judith, Brice hugs and kisses his new family and tells them he
loves them. Judith then walks slowly out of the pharmacy with regret while a sad song about
making bad decision plays.

In conclusion, Brice had chances to decide either to stay with the wife or take the necessary
precautions in other to prevent him from contracting HIV, because he also had contributed to
their marriage downfall but he decided to divorce her and got married to another lady. Which
have clearly shown as to end the counselling session that one should never leave the one

Page 8 of 9
he/she love for the one they like. Judith obviously liked Harley but loved Brice, and another
thing is that you never leave the one you love because the one you like will usually mess you
over. Because you never know what you have until it gone, and this is the case of Brice, he
did not realize how much he really loved Judith until she left. Though he did not deserve
what the wife did to him, he should have paid more attention to his wife before she stepped
out.

Couples also need to learn how to not take what they have for granted, it was clear at the end
of the movie, Brice had a new wife with a son and Judith was all alone because she cheated.
Judith regretted cheating after seeing Brice with his new family. She could have had all that if
she would have sat down with her husband and communicated. Couples also need to know
how to communicate with their partner. Judith and Brice could have worked things out before
she stepped out of their marriage. She should have voiced her concern instead of searching
for it elsewhere. This is indeed my opinion, I felt the movie punished Judith because Brice
constantly agreed with Judith's mother about everything. She had a complicated life and I do
not feel she should have been punished for falling out of love with her husband although that
not to be encouraged in marriage. Maybe I would have felt better if Judith and Brice would
have worked things out and changed for the better. This was all to say that the choice you
make today will determine your tomorrow, therefore be ready for the consequences.

Page 9 of 9