A few weeks ago there was a scandal involving a Godly man. This man made a very provocative statement. His statement was that he and his wife do not go out alone with members of the opposite sex.
The firestorm this very provocative statement set off was amazing. Then he was caught eating out with another woman and the news broke that he held his wife to rules that he himself did not abide by.
Of course it was then found out the woman he had dinner with was his mother.
A married man and woman respect each other enough to not put themselves in compromising positions.
The marriage vows of "forsaking all others" they actually honored and went out of their way to maintain that vow!
When did we get to the place that this was even a story? I can remember a time when this was accepted as the normal way of marriage. When morals and concern. care for the family unit, honor and respect for each other was a way of life. When a man loved his wife enough to protect her from gossip, from the appearance of any wrong doing on his part. When a woman took her role as seriously and did not compromise herself or her reputation.
Christ died for the church. He set the example for all who follow Him. We die to all others when we marry. It is not a step taken lightly. It is a very big decision to take another's hand and live life as 1.
Gen_2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
A man and a woman shall be one. That doesn't mean they think alike, but that they complete each other. working towards a shared vision and a shared goal a shared future.
Eph_5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
1Pe 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
It is a very simple thing really. I married my wife. I promised to be loyal, faithful, honorable and to forsake all others.
I did not promise to be with her only when convenient. Or until someone better came along. Or to leave because she didn't behave the way I thought she should.
I did not enter into this marriage for me alone, but for us and what we might accomplish together as a partnership.
That's what marriage is. A partnership. A pact. A coming together of two to accomplish what one alone could not do.
There was a time when till death do us part meant something.
Over the generations this has been cheapened and watered down, until it means nothing.
However, instead of looking at previous generations and the example they set we need to look to the example of Christ and His sacrifice for us.
A man and a woman do not lose their individuality in a marriage, that's what makes them better. To complete the other, to love, honor, respect themselves,, each other, and their relationship.
One does not own the other, they are respectively respectful.
Another little item which bothers me is the statement that a relationship is 50 - 50. it is not. It is 100 - 100 percent from both people. If you only give half of yourself you only get half a result. That is not optimal from any perspective.
I guess the hard part of the whole equation in today's world is the idea that we put someone else first. Their care, their reputation, their concerns before our own.
Why is that so hard?
Why is that such an issue to overcome?
The firestorm this very provocative statement set off was amazing. Then he was caught eating out with another woman and the news broke that he held his wife to rules that he himself did not abide by.
Of course it was then found out the woman he had dinner with was his mother.
A married man and woman respect each other enough to not put themselves in compromising positions.
The marriage vows of "forsaking all others" they actually honored and went out of their way to maintain that vow!
When did we get to the place that this was even a story? I can remember a time when this was accepted as the normal way of marriage. When morals and concern. care for the family unit, honor and respect for each other was a way of life. When a man loved his wife enough to protect her from gossip, from the appearance of any wrong doing on his part. When a woman took her role as seriously and did not compromise herself or her reputation.
Christ died for the church. He set the example for all who follow Him. We die to all others when we marry. It is not a step taken lightly. It is a very big decision to take another's hand and live life as 1.
Gen_2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
A man and a woman shall be one. That doesn't mean they think alike, but that they complete each other. working towards a shared vision and a shared goal a shared future.
Eph_5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
1Pe 3:7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
It is a very simple thing really. I married my wife. I promised to be loyal, faithful, honorable and to forsake all others.
I did not promise to be with her only when convenient. Or until someone better came along. Or to leave because she didn't behave the way I thought she should.
I did not enter into this marriage for me alone, but for us and what we might accomplish together as a partnership.
That's what marriage is. A partnership. A pact. A coming together of two to accomplish what one alone could not do.
There was a time when till death do us part meant something.
Over the generations this has been cheapened and watered down, until it means nothing.
However, instead of looking at previous generations and the example they set we need to look to the example of Christ and His sacrifice for us.
A man and a woman do not lose their individuality in a marriage, that's what makes them better. To complete the other, to love, honor, respect themselves,, each other, and their relationship.
One does not own the other, they are respectively respectful.
Another little item which bothers me is the statement that a relationship is 50 - 50. it is not. It is 100 - 100 percent from both people. If you only give half of yourself you only get half a result. That is not optimal from any perspective.
I guess the hard part of the whole equation in today's world is the idea that we put someone else first. Their care, their reputation, their concerns before our own.
Why is that so hard?
Why is that such an issue to overcome?
No comments:
Post a Comment