There is a song made popular by Frank Sinatra many years ago. The lyrics of the first verse are as follows:

                                      Love and marriage, love and marriage
                                      They go together like a horse and carriage
                                      This I tell you brother
                                      You can't have one without the other
                                     
It is a great song and generally expressed the attitude of committed love. With those who are genuinely in love, commitment is not something to be feared, but rather to be embraced! Today too many of our young people have embraced the hook-up generation, and forsaken genuine love and devotion to the other for a poor imitation of love. The apostle Paul wrote, "Charity [love in every instance here] suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

 The kind of love expressed here between a man and woman who have become husband and wife is one that will endure the obstacles and disagreements that are natural between the two.

Many of the social problems we face today are a direct result of taking the marriage relationship too lightly. Jesus pointed out that a man and woman joined together, in the permanent relationship known as marriage, is the divine plan (Matthew 19:4-9). It was authorized by God at the beginning of biblical history (Genesis 1-3). For about 6,000 years, it has been the norm and functioned very well. There have been exceptions of course, but they were exceptions rather than the rule. In the last fifty to one hundred years, many have taken their marriage vows too lightly, and as a result, too large a proportion of them ended in divorce. Since many of the parents of the younger folks today are products of divorce and broken homes too many have settled for a "hook-up" relationship without even a hint of love involved. Many people are simply rutting like animals. In addition, there is a small but very vocal minority of homosexuals, pedophiles, and other perverts that would simply like to destroy the very concept of marriage, the home and family.

If we are to save the very foundations of society we must go back to the biblical concept of a man and woman joining together and becoming "one flesh" (Matthew 19:6), loving each other in the biblical definition of love (not raging hormones), and being an example, to their children, of genuine love! This kind of marriage is to last "until death us do part." The benefits of a committed long-term marriage are many. Notice:

· It will lower the proportion of illegitimate children to almost nothing. Currently in America more than half the children born are illegitimate, and raised in a single-parent family, or one with a succession of men, most of whom are bad role models!

· It will help the income level of the average household in America.

· It will give a stable influence in which to raise children with both a father and a mother to raise them.

· It will help all such families be happier and enjoy life. Studies show that long-term marriages are much happier and better adjusted than all other alternatives. Studies even show that such relationships have a better sex life.

The facts are very simple: when we consider all the alternatives, the biblical pattern of one man for one woman for life, there is simply no downside to God's plan!

Ed Rodgers, Forney, TX