After 35 years and three months of marriage, and 11,000 hours of pastoral counseling, I have learned twenty things about good and bad marriages. The husband and wife take each other and forsake all others. Marriage is not just an arrangement to clarify inheritance. It has been called a dramatic act in which two strangers come together to redefine themselves. Some couples like their wedding service to be traditional, others 'freer'.
Some young people are wary of commitment, and view marriage as a trap.
But you can't have a satisfying marriage relationship without commitment - a commitment of one imperfect person to another imperfect person. Commitment is more than to permanence or sexual fidelity. For Christians commitment is not just 'being there year after year in the easy chair'. It is more than a promise not to go away. With the help of God, I commit myself to that.' 2.