MARRIAGE DYNAMICS (Vol. 7)
Mystery about Marriage
How much did you know about marriage when you got married? How much do you know about marriage now that you are about to marry? Or what do you need to know about marriage? This is where the issue of definition comes in. The meaning of marriage is not what we are taught, it is what we have learned.
For a marriage to be a blessing or a curse, it depends on what forms the basis of one’s definition of marriage. This can be the Word of God or the world we live in. The two have given us two distinct meanings of marriage. These two diverse meanings have become how people view marriage and how they behave in marriage.
Marriage, according to the Word of God, is a covenant of permanent relationship between two people (a man and a woman) as husband and wife, for better and for worse. However, marriage in the world we live in is a contract of living arrangement between two willing people for better and for best.
The Word of God sees marriage as a covenant, while the world we live in (the sinful world) views marriage as a contract. When it comes to marriage, a contract makes marriage a socio-legal institution. A contract marriage is like an agreement and arrangement of living together. However, this agreement is conditional. That you can keep it as long as it works, and return it whenever it does not.
Many today are signing on marriage certificates based on hedonism (pleasure), situationism (situation), utilitarianism (usefulness), and materialism (gain). Marriage is now based on the will of man rather than the will of God; what one wants and not what God wills; what is pleasing to one and not what pleases God; what makes one happy and not what glorifies God.