Marriage Is for Holiness, Not Just Happiness (1204 hits)
Make no mistake, we were (and still are) head over heels for one another, but neither of us needed marriage to make us happy because we were already happy in our singleness. We understood—even then—that our marriage was ultimately more about our moral development than personal satisfaction and contentment. And that day, we washed each other's feet in the surf to symbolize our commitment to serve each other to that end.
..."For most of human history and in most societies, the goal of marriage was to provide economic security through family alliances and to serve as a context for procreation. To marry for personal happiness (or love) was considered a selfish act that disregarded the needs of the broader community. It wasn't until the 12th century that the troubadours (a group of traveling poets) introduced the concept of courtly love as we know it today."
Still other groups have emphasized the spiritual goals of marriage. The Catholic church believes marriage is a sacrament because the relationship between husband and wife represents the union of Christ to his bride, believers."...
..."The trouble—even for contemporary Christians—is that we often approach marital issues in an individualistic way. In the cornucopia of Christian marriage self-help books, the guiding questions seem to be along the lines of "What can I get out of this?" or "How can I cope in this marriage?" rather than "What are we forging together?" or "How can our marriage make us each more like Christ?"
It's not that God doesn't want our marriages to bring us deep satisfaction and happiness, it's just that marriage is bursting with opportunities for deeper spiritual growth—opportunities we may be missing if we're not asking all the right questions."...
