MARRIAGE

MARRIAGE

Introduction

From time immemorial, marriage has been accorded full respect by the society. The reason for attachment of this respect is that the institutional has played a crucial role in maintaining and in the continuation of generations. However, it is astonishing how this institution has evolved over the years. The respect has since vanished and society does not place much emphasis on the need to respect marriage. This has been evidenced by many changes in the institution, such as divorce, cohabiting, and single mothers among many other examples.

According to the US census Bureau of Statistics, the average age of men making a decision to marry is approximately at 28.5 years while women is 26.5 years (Emerson, 2008, p. 376). Even with this, many couples prior to their marriage choose to cohabit. Others choose not to marry at all for various reasons such as lifestyle and peer pressure despite having children. This trend is gaining prominence in most advanced or rather developed societies. The reasons attributed to this shift of living style and attitude to marriage is the ever-changing lifestyles that keep on evolving. This therefore puts a threat to the marriage institution. Nowadays, it is a common thing to see young couples marry and get marriage certificates but not able to keep their marriage for long period of time. This has seen marriage licenses lose their meaning as they are viewed as merely papers (Russ, 2007, p. 93). This scenario is different from the old days whereby marriage carried significance importance and people who were married were accorded respect.

From the biblical perspective, marriage was supposed to be a union between a husband and a wife. The two were permitted to leave their families and begin their own live together as a husband and a wife. It is however, the opposite in these modern times. People have come up with unwanted multi-practices, rather immoral to the traditional society such as lesbianism and gay/homosexuality. These immoral acts seem to be preferred by a number of people as opposed to the authorized marriage. Lesbians and gay people are more willing to marry and leave as couples as opposed to opposite sex coming together as a wife and husband in a union.

It is also important to note that the number of teens that are becoming mothers have reduced significantly. However, the number of children that are still being born by these young mothers is high. This therefore shows that the rate of cohabiting is still high in the society amongst this category of the population. It further shows that the marriage institution has not been respected by the society. From the biblical perspective, a man and a woman are not required to enter into any sexual relationship before marrying to one another in a dignified way. For instance, statistics for the Centers for Disease control and prevention show a decline in actual rate of pregnancies in US. There was a 37% decrease in the number of teenage birth in 2009 compared to 1991. In 2009, teenage girls aged 15-19 years gave birth. However, United Nations statistics rates the US teenage pregnancies to be nine times higher than developed countries. Most of these teen mothers do not marry to their biological fathers of their children. Others end up not marrying again. There are various reasons that are behind these practices by many teenage mothers. Most of them are self-sustainable; they have good jobs and therefore are able to support their children without seeking he support of their fathers.

Another reason is that some of the biological fathers deny responsibilities of fathering the children leaving the burden of raising the children to the mother. Other reasons include the changing of lifestyles, whereby most women want to be independent to live on their own.

Even with the changes that have evolved on how the society views marriage, it remains a vital institutional in society. It is the epitome ad the centre of the society. Society is not able to progress without according maximum respect to this very important institution. It remains the foundation of the social health and stability of any nation, United States included. The reasons why this institution is so dear to the entire society is that it dedicate the morals of a society and also represents the generations of a country and the society at large. Family, especially children are very important component of a society (Schulman, 2003, p.36). Children morals are created and promoted by their parents. They learn from their parents acts. Therefore, if the morals standards of the parents are ailing, the same will be transmitted to the children hence making the coming generations lose track of what is expected of them.

Another reason marriage is vital is that it is an institution that acts as a good example that cements good behaviors to the children. Children that come from families that have enjoyed good marriage are nurtured well and grow up appreciating the importance of having a good family that is united. Therefore, they advance such values and adopt them in their own families hence pass them to their future generations.

Children in marriage are important since they are the future generations. With the changing lifestyles, many parents are taking care of their children’s in different ways. For instance, children from single parents may not get an opportunity to be counseled and guided by one parent, hence affecting the psychology and social life of such children in future. This lack of unity and love among couples may therefore have an adverse effect to their children in future. Children learn through copying and emulating. Therefore, they will watch the behaviors of their parents and they stories narrate concerning their parents and emulate such. For instance, if parents loved cohabiting and still practice it, children will emulate such and will not see such behaviors as bad. It is therefore important that this institutional is appreciated and respected by the entire society to be able to nurture children in positive way. It is not possible to preach water and drink wine. Marriage, whether in a traditional context or in modern times should be accorded the necessary respect that it deserves (Eberstadt, 2007, p. 549). Children have a tendency of learning from old people and they will do what their old people do.

Taking care of children at home should be the responsibility of both parents. In marriage, parents have the mandate to ensure that children are well taken care of and their needs well addressed. The question of how to stay at home with children or who need to work to provide for the family is one that have for a ,long period of time continued to enlist reaction in many marriages. As marriage couples, they need to discuss the issue and support one another in raising and providing the needs of their children. Marriage institution is one that requires close liaison between parents and therefore, communication is imperative in any successive marriage. A successful marriage is where both parties man and a woman a live together cordially and have positive relationship with their children. Reaching this far requires a lot of compromises, love and determination by both the parties. Such understanding is the key to a successful marriage.

References

Eberstadt, K. (2007). Home-Alone America. New York, p, 549.

Emerson, R. (2008). Self-reliance. In E. Rauchut&amp; K. Mason (Eds.), Kirkpatricksignature series reader (pp. 374-383). Bellevue, NE: Bellevue University Press. (Original work published 1841)

Russ, J. (2007). The Future of Marriage/Marriage: For and Against. Country You Have Never Seen: Essays & Reviews, p86-91. (Book Review).

Schulman, S. (2003). Gay Marriage and Marriage. Commentary, 116(4):35-40.