Why View Marriage as Sacred
Most people today would most likely claim that they
believe in the sanctity of marriage. Why, then, do so many unions end
in divorce? For some, marriage is little more than a romantic promise
and a legal agreement. But promises can be broken. People who view
marriage this way find it quite easy to give up on their marriage when
things go wrong. How does God view the marriage arrangement? The
answer is found in Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage is honourable in all, and
the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge”.
The word “honourable” carries the thought of something that is precious
and highly esteemed. When we value something we take care that we
preserve it and do not want to lose it, even accidentally, and the same
should be true of the marriage arrangement. Christians are to view
marriage as honourable, as something precious that they want to
protect. Obviously God arranged marriage as something sacred between a
husband and wife. How can we show that we share His view on marriage?
Love and respect. The marriage arrangement requires
that husband and wife honour each other, “Be kindly affectioned one to
another, with brotherly love, in honour preferring one another” (Rom.
12:10). The apostle Paul wrote to first century Christians,
“Nevertheless, let every one of you in particular so love his wife even
as himself, and the wife see that she reverence her husband” (Eph.
5:33). Granted, at times a spouse may not act in the most honourable
or respectful manner; still, Christians must show such love and
respect. Paul wrote again to the Colossians, “…forbearing one another,
and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any, even
as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things, put
on charity (love), which is the bond of perfectness” (Col. 3:13-14).
The married couple who view their union as sacred
take time to fulfil each other’s physical and emotional needs. The
Bible says, “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his
own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband
render unto the wife due benevolence, and likewise also the wife unto
the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband,
and the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife” (1 Cor.
7:3-4).
Bro. Amnobe Iyungu (Kigoma, Tanzania)
