Let Marriage Be the Standard: K.I.S.S.I.N.G

 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. (1 Corinthians 7:2).

How many of you remember the old nursery rhyme, K.I.S.S.I.N.G?

(Your name) and (the name of your beloved)
Sitting in a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G!
First comes love
Then comes marriage
Then comes baby
In a baby carriage!

K.I.S.S.I.N.G is such a simple rhyme, but it packs a lot of wisdom. As a culture, we have strayed from God’s original plan for marriage. We have conformed to doing things out of the will of God: fornication, shacking, and babies out of wedlock. Love is no longer the standard for marriage. Today, people marry because they look good together on paper and they want to become the infamous power couple. Instead of waiting to have sex within a marriage, we have to go for a test drive in the bedroom to make sure everything checks out – good sex is no guarantee for a successful relationship. And just because we’re compatible partners cohabiting together before marriage is not an indicator that we’ll have a successful marriage. According to research from the Journal of Marriage and Family, living together before marriage increases the risk of divorce.

There was a time when having babies out of wedlock was frowned upon, but now it’s celebrated through lavishly displayed gender reveal parties. People have even gone so far as to give God praise for allowing them to fornicate, shack up, and have babies out of wedlock. A recent study from the Pew Research Center reports the rate for children in the U.S., living with a single parent is steadily rising, while the marriage rate continues to decline and births outside of marriage accelerate. Pew’s study also reported that 130 countries and territories show that the U.S. has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households. The Bible says that children are a blessing from God (Psalm 127:3), but Jesus is referring to those that are married.

Because we have decided to do sex, relationships, and marriage our way and not God’s way, we should not be surprised as to why the divorce rate is so high and why there are so many single-parent homes, and why there are so many failed relationships, and hurt children, who grow into hurt adults. Moving forward, let’s do love, marriage, and children in the order that God designed.

 

XOXO,

 

Jay