Marriage on the Skids

I'm teaching the principles of healthy marriage on Wednesday nights. Apparently a lot of pastors are, based on feedback I'm getting. The response here has been very strong.

Last week we looked at the divorce rate here in the USA. One source says it's just about 50% for first-time marriages; 67% for second marriages; 74 % for third marriages. Does the problem lie in the attitudes we bring to marriage, or do we simply pick our spouses in the worst possible way?

In India, nearly all marriages are arranged by a young person's parents and family, based on family traditions, education, economics, geographical region, etc. etc. And in sharp contrast to what happens here in America, the divorce rate in India is 1%. That's right! I've confirmed that only 11 of 1,000 marriages end in divorce in India!

A friend commented, "That's true, but many of those marriages are very unhappy!" I can imagine that's very true. But if you look at the rate of divorce for 2nd and 3rd marriages here, you discover that we're not making ourselves happier here as we rebound again and again.

Postponing marriage has become a popular alternative here in the States. Is this making people happier? I haven't see a reliable statistic on that, but anecdotal evidence is not encouraging. Small claims courts are jammed with young people trying to recover financial losses at the hands of people they trusted enough to live with, but didn't trust enough to marry.

I fear this is a national crisis, but not one the President or Congress can fix. Stricter divorce laws are probably not the answer. Giving birth to kids whose parents aren't legally married is not the answer either. Maybe I'm prejudiced, but I have come to believe that God is the only answer here. We need God to share some of his spiritual wisdom and build up our national character.

Of course, they will happen one life at a time. So like many other people, I've just added one more item to my list of "Why we should be praying fervently for a spiritual awakening in the church." Think about it. On second thought, pray about it.