Marriage 101

It was about seven years ago that something deep within my soul had begun to change.  It was a reality beyond anything that I have ever known.  All of a sudden, I found myself grasping things about life that weren’t visible to me before.  It changed my life.  It was as if I was born again.

In this essay, I plan on sharing one specific perspective that changed as a result of my rebirth.  The perspective has to do with my personal view on marriage.  I will be sharing what my old view was and how it changed to the current view that I now hold. 

Marriage to me was the dumbest, most illogical, foolish thing that any male could ever do.  Why on earth would any person want to get married?  Why not just live together and enjoy the advantages?  I mean, think about it.  As a married couple you would have to pay more taxes.  Why pay more?  Don’t you think that the government is already taking enough as it is?  Also, as a male I have to be honest.  Being together with a beautiful woman for the rest of my life would be great.  Yet, the fact is that there is a possibility of the woman getting fat and ugly.  What then?  Well, you’re either stuck with a fat, ugly woman for the rest of your life or you get divorced.  Oh! I said it.  The big “D” word.  Some people think they have it all figured out when they get married.  They think that if it doesn’t work out they could always get divorced.  Fools! They have no idea what’s in store for them.  Getting divorced is uglier than a baboon’s bottom.  The financial and emotional trauma is not worth it.  If divorce is an option, why get married in the first place?  It doesn’t make any sense.  Wait a minute, but what about prenuptial agreements?  Get real, those are a joke.  Prenuptial agreements basically say that I want to get married so that I could get divorced later.  It’s ridiculous!  The bottom line is that getting married is stupid.  Just live together as boyfriend and girlfriend.  If things don’t work out just leave and try again with someone else.  But never get married.  Why?  Why would anybody, in their right mind want to get married?
Well, because it’s one of the most beautiful, poetic things that God has ever given us.  God created marriage.  He spoke and said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”  “I will make a companion who will help him.”  Then God created the woman and the man chose her as his companion.  And it was said that man was to leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall be as one. 

You see, the thing that happened to me seven years ago was that Jesus Christ became a part of my life.  I can sincerely say that He changed me from the inside out.  The crazy things that I used to love, I hate now.  And the things that I used to perceive as meaningless and empty, I see as meaningful and beautiful.  My wife is the most important person to me, next to God.  There isn’t one day that passes that I don’t think about her.  When I get home from work and see that her car is in the driveway, I can’t resist the smile.  My wife is special to me and if she was to gain 300 pounds I would love her just the same.  She is truly a gift from God.  I’m convinced of it. 

Why get married?  Asking that question is like asking why a flower has color.  We get married because it’s a beautiful thing to say, “This is my wife.” “This is the person that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with, in sickness and health until death does us part.”  Many people have problems with marriage because they don’t understand it.  They see marriage through the eyes of Hollywood or some personal philosophies.  Such perspectives cause blindness to the beauty and essence of marriage.  God created marriage to be a good thing, and as long as people try to make it into something that it was never intended to be, marriage will bloom into a corruption of something beautiful.