without joy or love because of children, careers, family, and church; only two will enjoy a happy marriage.
Marriage is Not Outdated
Living together is unsatisfactory. A marriage has commitment, permanence, depth from total sharing.
Marriage is a privilegefight and work for
it on the physical, mental, spiritual & emotional plane
It takes brains, time, effort, and
determination & the work is never completed. A successful Marriage does not come spontaneously, or by chance, it is two people working out small & large difficulties.
Many Couples fall in love, marry and think
that the job is completed. They think everything else with work out automatically, and they will live happily ever after. Problems are a part of being human, God smiles on those who search for new ways to improve family relationships. If needed see a councilor. Whether marriage is a blessing or a torment depends of the couple.
Plato used a ladder to illustrate growth in
marriage relationship-the sides are H & W. Each wrung holds them together. The lowest rung is physical attraction & the highest love for God. A definition of marriage is: A total commitment of the total person for a total way of life: Do not marry for: a. convenience.
b. To escape from a bad home.
c. To give a baby a name. Marriage is a union of love encompassing all areas of life: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual. Many Christian couples feel they must not have marriage problemsnot a vital spiritual life? a. Pastor, parents, elders-they can help.
No instant cures for marriage problems
Develop good interpersonal relationships and communication skills. Gods influence in the life is the important key to a meaningful marriage. Without a Christ-centered relationship, a couple can find periods of contentment and morsels of happiness a mediocre union. 3 Alternatives for a marriage:
a.. divorce-most immature, an escape
mechanism b. Endure a bad marriagewear a mask, dont face problems. c. Face the problem-incompatible personalities can work out deficiencies. There are no unhappy marriages, only
Divorce Socially acceptable. Easy to obtain. Decline in family life, and early marriagesa lack of preparation. Decline in Christian living-drugs, sex, And the occult are restless activities. Divorce solves little and evades much
Insanity, suicide, and death are 2 or 3 times
higher in divorcees than married people
Barring the insane, neurotic, or alcoholic
person, who should avoid marriage anyway, almost anyone with a certain amount of common sense, maturity and effort can have a reasonably successful marriage. Happy marriages seem to be on the endangered species list!