Over the past couple of years I've been shocked ... no,
horrified at some of the things I've heard people in "monogamous committed long term romantic relationships" say to or about each other.
Things that, frankly, sounded contemptuous to me and exactly the same as insults. Things like,
"Are you stupid? What were you thinking?!"
"That's such a bad idea I can't believe you're considering it"
"If it wasn't for me who'd want to marry you?"
"I'm not going to bring up the baggage in
your life"
Of course those are on top of tired old standbys like:
"You'll always be incapable of meeting my needs"
"What's
wrong with you?"
"We can get married and if it doesn't work out after a year then we'll just get a divorce."
Wow.
One question is, Are those the kind of things people in love say to each other?
Question two is, What does contempt, wrath and insults have to do with love, commitment and glorifying God?
Is it hard to love, honor and stay committed in marriage
when we've been forewarned that a prospective mate either ignores or completely denies Christ and keeps proving that his/her Self is Life Priority Number One?
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Going to church at Easter and on Christmas Eve isn't the same as surrendering to, obeying and following Christ.
The rate of divorce among non-denominational couples in the US is 34%
The current US divorce rate for couples under 30 is a staggering 72.8%
The national percentage of divorces for Baptists is 29%
The national percentage of divorces for "Mainline Protestants" is 25%
-
source But wait, there's more:
"While it may be alarming to discover that born again Christians are more likely than others to experience a divorce, that pattern has been in place for quite some time.
Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that when those individuals experience a divorce many of them feel their community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing. But the research also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families.
The ultimate responsibility for a marriage belongs to the husband and wife, but the high incidence of divorce within the Christian community challenges the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriages."- George Barna, Barna Research Group
Yikes.
