God’s
Instruction for Marriage
God’s Instruction for Marriage
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined
to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).
hen we buy a new appliance or tool, it’s common
to see on the outside of the box: “Some assembly
required. Instructions inside.” Of course, many of us
don’t bother with the instructions. We just put together
the item as best we can. And sometimes that works.
But if it doesn’t, we have to go back and read the directions to
find out
what we did wrong. As the old saying goes, “If all else fails,
read the
directions.”
When it comes to
putting together a marriage, many couples
have used the same
approach. They do it
without bothering to
read the instructions.
Sadly, the result is that
many marriages aren’t
working. Husbands and
wives find that they
can’t live together in
peace. Because couples don’t read or heed the instructions,
marriages are
failing at abysmally high rates.
During the latter part of the last century, divorce rates
skyrocketed
in many countries. The tragic result is that more and more
children are
being raised in single-parent homes.
In the United States, psychologist Robert Evans says:
“Unprecedented
numbers of people now delay marriage until their late twenties
or their
thirties or cohabit without marrying. When they do wed, the
chances of
their first marriage breaking up are between 40 percent and 50
percent;
God’s
Instruction Manual for Marriage
Two people must learn to work together in marriage,
showing respect and love to each other.
people living together will double in the next 20 years from the
current
figure of 12 per cent. So it is likely that within the next
decade most
children will be born outside marriage”
We could bury ourselves in the statistics concerning the failure
rates
of marriages from around the world, but the overall picture
would
remain the same: Divorce, or the dissolution of marriage as some
prefer
to term it, plagues humanity in most every nation.
Faced with these numbing reports, many, particularly in Sweden
and
Denmark, are choosing to forego marriage and simply live
together.
Under these conditions, because there are no marriages, there
are no
divorces to report when couples break up. But these same broken
relationships bring heartache to the adults and children alike—with the
children especially suffering when they are separated from one
of their
biological parents.
Recognizing the failure rate of so many marriages today, a
logical
person will examine the causes for the failures to see what
might be
done to save his or her relationship from a similar fate.
When we make the decision to examine the instructions, we also
face
the critical matter of
where to turn
for such instruction. If man is simply
an animal and there is no God, then there are no divine
directions! If
there are no divine directions, logically, we’d want to get the
best statistical information available from research so we could make decisions
based on the greatest likelihood of happiness and success.
Yet some people don’t want to know what works either. Apparently,
they’d rather take their chances (and poor chances they are) on
their own
without any guidance whatsoever. Does that make sense?
We can be grateful, however, that the Bible does provide
instruction
on marriage. And not only that, the validity of this instruction
is
continually being backed up by sociological research. Do you
want to
know what these instructions are? Will you be willing to live by
the
guidelines? Or are you committed to the path of least resistance
and
willing to suffer the sure consequences of broken laws?
We each must choose what we will do. Remember,
no
choice is also
a choice—usually a poor one. So what does God say? Where can we
find
His directions ? Back ground to the first
marriage
When God created human beings, He made two “models”—one male,
one female. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in His own
image;
in the image of God He created him; male and female He created
them.”
Reflecting on His creation, including making us male and female,
Genesis 1:31 says, “Then God saw everything that He had made,
and
indeed it was
very good
.”
Sexuality in human beings was not designed to just be okay; it
was
designed to be extremely good! And it is great and wonderful
when
we use this special gift of God in the way He intended. Sadly,
many
people do not respect their sexuality (or others’) as they
should. Through
immoral sexual behavior they belittle what God intended to be a
very
special experience.
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