Try as the media might to convince us that marriage is just another means for our own happiness—and one in which individuals can set their own rules and independent bounds for—we know the truth. God created this union, among many reasons, to eventually give us a fuller understanding of his relationship with the church—his holy bride.

Less than a year ago, an article was published in Huffington Post entitled “Is Marriage an Outdated Tradition?” As it seems, the authors answer is: yes.

Sadly, many Americans would agree.

According to a report issued by the Center for Disease Control in March of 2016, when prompted to respond to the statement “marriage has not worked out for most people I know,” roughly a third of those surveyed answered in agreement.

Respondents also generally demonstrated indifference towards what some would call a ‘traditional’ family structure. Marriage, in their view, isn’t really essential to a couple’s decision to enter into parenthood.

Researchers, writers, and experts across the country are wondering whether or not we should ditch this formal union and leave it in the dust of generations past. Marriage is hard and promising to stand by someone amidst the chaos and change of life seems unpractical in our modern, ‘have-it-all’ cultural context. Many wonder, like the author of the aforementioned article, why should we bother entering into these life-long commitments if they’re no longer satisfying our needs?

This argument, of course, presupposes that marriage has nothing to do with self-less love, but the selfish desires we have in our own hearts. It assumes that marriage is a social construct that—just as quickly as it was created—can be dismantled and destroyed to serve a broader cultural agenda.

But try as the media might to convince us that marriage is just another means for our own happiness—and one in which individuals can set their own rules and independent bounds for—we know the truth. God created this union, among many reasons, to eventually give us a fuller understanding of his relationship with the church—his holy bride.

He wanted us to learn to love him more through our love for a spouse: another person created in his image. As his love is faithful to us, so too are we called to be faithful to our partner even on the days, weeks, or months when we don’t particularly feel like it.

Marriage, ultimately, is not about us; it’s all about him.

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