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Marriage Keep the Home Fires Burning (2) COMPLETE COMMITMENT Commitment is the cornerstone of strong marriages. God's blueprint for marriage is clearly drawn in the Bible. It is, One Man plus One Woman for One Lifetime. Matthew 19:6 points out the importance of complete commitment when it says, "What God has joined together, let not man put asunder." So many couples come to the marriage altar with selfish, unrealistic expectations. Each person is focusing on what they can get out of marriage instead of considering what they must give. A successful marriage is an exercise in give and take. There are no "story book" marriages. If you hear of a marriage that is "perpetual bliss" it is a fairy tale. Why? Because there are no perfect husbands and no perfect wives. All marriages have their strengths and weaknesses, their good times and their difficult times, their highs and their lows. So what keeps a marriage going? The secret fuel that keeps the love fires burning is the total commitment of one partner to the other. By total commitment I mean, the willingness to hang in there and work things out, in spite of weaknesses, disappointments and failures. One author explained commitment like this... "A successful marriage is not one in which two people, beautifully matched find each other and get along happily ever after because of the initial matching. It is, instead, a system by means of which persons who are sinful and contentious are so caught by a dream bigger than themselves that they work throughout the years, in spite of repeated disappointment, to make the dream come true." (From The Recovery Of The Family by Elton Trueblood). Make it obvious to your mate that you are committed to making your marriage work. There is another aspect of commitment that needs to be considered. Be committed to being satisfied with your partner. Our society has a morbid preoccupation with what I call The Septic Tank Syndrome. Movies, TV, videos, romance novels, etc. promote the philosophy -- The Grass Is Greener On The Other Side Of The Fence! When was the last time you saw a TV movie where married people were enjoying a fulfilling relationship with each other? It is an unusual show that does not promote the "grass is greener..." philosophy. But that philosophy is a MYTH! Do you know where the grass is greener? I have found that the grass is always greener over the septic tank. The entertainment media has disguised the hurt, the broken lives and the tragedy of marriages shattered by unfaithfulness. They make adultery look attractive but it is devastating American families. The wisest man who ever lived wrote in Proverbs 5:15-23 of the importance of being satisfied with your marriage partner. He said, "Drink water out of thine own cistern... rejoice with the wife of thy youth... let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravashed always with her love." He goes on to say how foolish it is to look outside of the marriage relationship for satisfaction. I suggest you get out you Bible and carefully read this passage in its entirety. Commitment means that your mate holds a position of honor in your life. That means there is a bond of sexual exclusiveness between you. Complete commitment is the fuel that keeps the marriage warm.
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