USA Today reports More young couples are having babies, then deciding to wed. The article concludes with a quote from a twenty-three year-old interviewee:Says Davie Melton: "Marriage, I guess, is a piece of paper nowadays, and I don't think you necessarily need it to be a good family."Is marriage just "a piece of paper"?
Obviously, I believe the Bible teaches a mystical, transcendent reality in marriage: the two become one (Genesis 1:27; 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6).
Notice that while I chose the words "mystical" and "transcendent," I am still talking about reality. Science reveals truth (reality), but there is truth beyond what science can reveal. Transcendent truths are just as real. And I believe one of those transcendent truths is that in marriage, the two really become one.
Let's say you don't want to get all metaphysical. Is marriage just a piece of paper?
In marriage, no matter the type of ceremony, promises are made. These promises are made to your future spouse. These promises are made in the presence of witnesses. I believe these promises are made before God Himself.
So it comes down to a question of how valuable is your word/your promise? Is your word as worthless as an easily discarded piece of paper? Are your promises so insincere that they are easily broken and abandoned? The integrity of marriage is not in question, but the integrity of your word is.
No matter how you approach it, marriage is more than a piece of paper. Don't throw it away.
2 comments:
I came across your blog today. Gives me a lot to think about. Thank you.
If a sacrement is a visual sign of an inward change, then the trend toward having children and then getting "the piece of paper" is a testament to that. What more tangible realization of "the two shall become one flesh" is there than the birth of a child; quite literally one flesh out of two.
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