There's a good article about marriage and faith on MSNBC's home page this morning. Apparently, those who base their marriage on the foundation of faith fair better than those who don't. Imagine that.This past weekend during a class on marriage at DTS, the topic of divorce and its consequences to the family unit came up. It's a hard discussion, because I've seen the devastation that comes from divorce in a family, and its impact on the divorcer, divorcee, and the innocent bystanders of the decision to divorce. As we discussed it, I was reminded of how thankful I am that Kari and I both grew up in homes not only with two parents, but in homes where divorce was not even a vocabulary word. It wasn't ever an option for our parents under any circumstances.
Our faith has been far and away the most important thing to Kari and my marriage - so much so that I often wonder how unbelievers make it in marriage. When there is no eternal perspective present in the life of husbands and wives, what keeps those people going through the really tough times? When there's no ultimate picture of the purpose of marriage, what keeps married couples together when everything falls apart? How could marriage last and be based on anything other than faith?
2 comments:
Chris...I think all studies show that divorce happens equally in marriages of believers and nonbelievers. I also think this is probably a case where in the people labeled as "believers" that it may be more cultural or rather faith not being a central part of their marriage and family.
When you think about marriage...a relationship between two people it's really against the prevalent culture of today, which is me, me, me, first and last. Marriage is about give and take it's about support, being there for each other thru sickness and health, being there poor or wealthy. It's about forever.
My wife and I celebrated our 25th anniversary last month. I love her now more than ever because I respect her as a person. I know her and she knows me. I know her weaknesses and her strengths. No we're not perfect, we have our problems like everyone else but...like your parents...divorce is not in our vocabulary. We are firmly and completely committed to each other for the rest of our days.
As our last child prepares to graduate from high school...we look forward to the next part of our journey together, wherever that may take us.
That's great.
Statistics also show that the highest divorce rates for married couples come during the first 2 years, followed closely by the first 2 years after the nest is empty.
Someone told me once that marriage is not 50/50, but 100/0. He reminded me that my responsibility was to love my wife 100 percent regardless of whether or not she loved me. Good stuff.
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