The Bible Can Help Your Marriage
MARRIAGE—for some, the word evokes pleasant thoughts. For others, it elicits heartache. “I feel emotionally divorced,” laments one wife. “I feel neglected and lonely all the time.”
What causes two people who once vowed to love and cherish each other to become so distant? One factor is a lack of education about what marriage entails. “We enter the institution without any training whatsoever,” observes one medical journalist.
That few today possess such know-how is borne out by a study conducted by The National Marriage Project, a research initiative of Rutgers University in New Jersey, U.S.A. “Many in this study have grown up with unhappily married or divorced parents,” write the directors of the project. “They know exactly what a bad marriage is, but they are less sure of what a good marriage looks like. Some can only describe a good marriage as ‘the opposite of my parents.’”
Are Christians immune to marital problems? No. In fact, some Christians in the first century needed pointed counsel to “stop seeking a release” from their marriage. (1 Corinthians 7:27) Clearly, any marriage of two imperfect humans is going to have its problems, but we have help. Husbands and wives can improve their relationship by applying Bible principles.
True, the Bible is not a marriage manual. Since it is inspired by the One who originated the marital arrangement, however, we can expect its principles to be helpful. Through the prophet Isaiah, Jehovah God stated: “I, Jehovah, am your God, the One teaching you to benefit yourself, the One causing you to tread in the way in which you should walk. O if only you would actually pay attention to my commandments! Then your peace would become just like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”—Isaiah 48:17, 18.
Has the love that once existed between you and your mate begun to fade? Do you feel trapped in a loveless marriage? One wife of 26 years said: “The pain that is experienced with this kind of relationship can hardly be described. It is constant and all-permeating.” Rather than resign yourself to an unfulfilling marriage, why not resolve to do something about it? The following article will show husbands and wives how Bible principles can help their marriage in one specific area—that of commitment.