Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Nothing new under the sun. We hear that all the time, but I am sure there must be some new things popping up all the time. If there isn't wouldn't the world be a terribly dull place to exist?

In our sphere, we might find new things occurring all the time, perhaps a new twist on an old theme. We might see many new faces wander passed us on the path to wherever they are going. I sometimes wonder if the sun doesn't actually make sure we see the new things that pass us. If so, the statement above is wrong.

To be fair, there re very few new things. There are things are are new to us. We see them for the first time and, to us, they are something new and refreshing. Remember the first time you saw color television? Yes, it was new to you, but it might have been a movie that was shown in theaters in color many times before. New to you, old to movie goers.

In a freaky way, I have a new concept. Not new to the world, only new to me. What if the United States suddenly began to make marriage arrangements similar to the New Testament times, where the family arranged for children's marriages. There would many problems already solved before they started.

Today, we are struck by the number of people out of work, a sea of new mortgages being foreclosed on, and a the economy suffering from poor planning by a generation too used to the good life to wait for their share when they could afford it.

In the first century, AD, parents arranged a marriage for their children. They knew the children better than anyone and could make better judgment decisions that the kids themselves. Parents knew enough not to let the kids start out life unprepared.

For a guy to claim his bride, he had to have learned a trade. His father was responsible to make sure he could earn a good living before the son could be married.

Next, he had to have built a house for his family to live in. He had to acquire land and build a structure to shelter and protect his new bride and the coming children.

Lastly, he had to prove to the bride's family that he was capable of heading up the household and providing for their daughter in the manner proscribed in the marriage contract.

This brings us to an interesting point. The marriage contract spelled out what was to happen to each party during the good times, the bad times, and what was to happen if the marriage failed. Knowing in advance the cost of getting out of a marriage is a handy thing to know before you begin breaking off a relationship.

For the bride's family, they were responsible to make sure the wife was pure and wholesome. She was to learn to be faithful even before the two young people married. Next, the bride would learn to cook, clean and run a household's daily functions. Gardening, shopping, and raising her children were responsibilities she had to master before she was allowed to marry.

In the end, when a couple got married, the family had eliminated much of the hardships of marriage before the couple wed, making it easier for them to begin their life together. I personally believe these lessons were the key to successful marriages.

In the past few decades, we have experienced the loss of these skills in marriage. This loss has made our divorce rate soar. If parents today begin to make sure they no longer shirk this responsibility, the divorce rate will return to normal and our children's lives will be much happier.

For those still waiting for information on the upcoming Relationship weekend, plan for the first weekend before Valentine's Day. I have not finalized all the details yet, but I am pretty sure this will be the date. We will begin the weekend on a Friday afternoon. If you are going to attend, please plan on taking the day off on Friday and joining us for some great fun. I will let everyone know when we have registration open for the weekend and all the details worked out.

Thanks again for listening. Till next time....

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