"Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure," (Hebrews 13:4).
Marriage should be honored by all. Too often it’s treated with disdain. Instead of "till death do us part" many commit to marriage only till it becomes inconvenient or uncomfortable, if they bother getting married at all. "There are more partners in the personal lives of Americans than in the lives of people of any other Western country," says sociologist Andrew J. Cherlin, author of The Marriage-Go-Round.
Marriage should be honored by all. Yet, in our nation, while many couples still commit to each other for life, a growing number fail to stay together. "There is no other single force causing as much measurable hardship and human misery in this country as the collapse of marriage," according to Caitlin Flanagan (Time, July 2, 2009).
Marriage should be honored by all -for the sake of children. Sociologist Sara McLanahan, a single mother herself, studied the fates of single parent children and found that "Children who grow up in a household with only one biological parent are worse off." And they are worse off in "every single significant outcome related to short-term well- being and long-term success," says Flanagan. "Longevity, drug abuse, school performance and dropout rates, teen pregnancy, criminal behavior and incarceration - if you can measure it, a sociologist has; and in all cases, the kids living with both parents drastically outperform the others."
Marriage should be honored by all. Instead, a seemingly continuous carnival of celebrities treats marriage with disdain and glorifies self-gratification. Many fans follow that parade of those who have forsaken marriage. "The poor are doing it by uncoupling parenthood from marriage," says Flanagan, "and the financially secure are doing it by blasting apart their unions if the principals aren't having fun anymore."
Marriage should be honored by all. Thank God that it is still honored by many. May God bless every effort of every couple to keep their marriage vows. May God bless each attempt to make a marriage better. Marriage itself was made in heaven. It was intended by our Creator to enhance our lives and enrich our communities.
Marriage should be honored by all. May we each do our part to honor it in our life.