Take any dozen wedded couples and four

will jump overboard; six will stay on deck

without joy or love because of children,
careers, family, and church; only two will
enjoy a happy marriage.

Marriage is Not Outdated

Living together is unsatisfactory.
A marriage has commitment, permanence,
depth from total sharing.

Marriage is a privilegefight and work for

it on the physical, mental, spiritual &
emotional plane

It takes brains, time, effort, and

determination & the work is never
completed.
A successful Marriage does not come
spontaneously, or by chance, it is two
people working out small & large
difficulties.

Many Couples fall in love, marry and think

that the job is completed. They think
everything else with work out automatically, and they will live happily ever
after.
Problems are a part of being human, God
smiles on those who search for new ways to
improve family relationships. If needed see
a councilor. Whether marriage is a blessing
or a torment depends of the couple.

Plato used a ladder to illustrate growth in

marriage relationship-the sides are H & W.
Each wrung holds them together. The
lowest rung is physical attraction & the
highest love for God.
A definition of marriage is:
A total commitment of the total person for
a total way of life:
Do not marry for:
a. convenience.

b. To escape from a bad home.

c. To give a baby a name.
Marriage is a union of love encompassing
all areas of life: physical, emotional,
intellectual, and spiritual.
Many Christian couples feel they must not
have marriage problemsnot a vital
spiritual life?
a. Pastor, parents, elders-they can help.

No instant cures for marriage problems

Develop good interpersonal relationships
and communication skills.
Gods influence in the life is the important
key to a meaningful marriage. Without a
Christ-centered relationship, a couple can
find periods of contentment and morsels of
happiness a mediocre union.
3 Alternatives for a marriage:

a.. divorce-most immature, an escape

mechanism
b. Endure a bad marriagewear a mask,
dont face problems.
c. Face the problem-incompatible
personalities can work out deficiencies.
There are no unhappy marriages, only

Divorce
Socially acceptable. Easy to obtain.
Decline in family life, and early
marriagesa lack of preparation.
Decline in Christian living-drugs, sex,
And the occult are restless activities.
Divorce solves little and evades much

Insanity, suicide, and death are 2 or 3 times

higher in divorcees than married people

Barring the insane, neurotic, or alcoholic

person, who should avoid marriage anyway,
almost anyone with a certain amount of
common sense, maturity and effort can have
a reasonably successful marriage.
Happy marriages seem to be on the
endangered species list!