Marriage

Mal 2:15 "Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth." ESV

 

Wow. There is so much wrapped up in this verse I don't know where to begin. How about God making a husband and wife one? How about all the way back to Genesis 2:24 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast (cling, cleave, stick) to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." One flesh. What does this mean? It means one flesh. It means one body. It means one unit. It means when you split it up it hurts. It injures. It maims. It kills. It destroys. More on that later.

 

"With a portion of the Spirit in their union." It is interesting that the Spirit of God is involved in this. God created this thing called marriage. It was His invention. This is why it is said: "What God has joined together let no man separate." God is the One who created this union. Why? So children could be born who were godly. This is the ideal. This is God's plan for marriage. A man and a woman would come together to become one flesh and the kids that they raise have the character of God.

 

So? So guard yourselves in your spirit. Watch your inner man. Be careful about what you think about, what you dwell on, what you fantasize about, what you stick in your brain because that is where junk starts…and do not be faithless, do not be deceitful to the wife you married when you were young. Be honest. Be open. Be true. Be single focused. Be faithful. Be committed. This is a good word to all of us guys.

 

Now this is where we have screwed up. If only we would listen to what God said. If only we would do what God instructs. If we did, we would have healthy families and a healthy society. But no…we have decided that we know better. We don't emphasize the covenant of marriage. It is more than a contract. It is more than an agreement between two people. It is a solemn vow between three individuals: the man the woman and God. But of course, we have gotten rid of God so why listen to what He says? We have made it easy for people to split up. We have instituted things like no fault divorce and dissolutions. We have downplayed the importance of marriage and no longer think it is wrong to live together before being married. And the result? Godly offspring? No. Instead we have many screwed up kids who have no stability. No compass in their lives. No direction. No foundation. No truth. Sure there are good single parent families but this is not without pain and problems. Just ask them. God wanted to protect us against that and we said: "Shove it." and did our own thing.

 

Studies have shown that the most stable kids are those who grow up in a home where Mom and Dad are together and are committed to one another, where the kids see that they love each other and where the kids are loved. This is God's plan, and it is the best plan because it works. Is it Biblical? Yes. Is it smart? Yes. Does it make sense? Yes. Have we paid attention? No. We are so messed up, so sinful, so self centered that we downplay and dishonor the marriage relationship.

 

And then comes our President yesterday, putting one more nail in the marriage coffin by saying a man can marry a man and a woman can marry a woman…no big deal…just so they love one another. We have screwed marriage up so badly already, he needs to do more? He has. And just like we are living the nightmare of divorce now, years from now we will reap the bitter pill that he wants us to swallow. I feel sorry for my kids and my grandkids. They will have to live in a more messed up society than I face. God help us.