Just a note: This is a post written by Pete Wilson of Crosspoint Church in Nashville. I read it on his blog and was honored when he gave me permission to include it here.
Are You Looking For Too Much Out Of Your Marriage?
It almost seems strange to even ask that question but Tim Keller’s latest book on marriage entitled, “The Meaning of Marriage” has a lot of people talking.
In the book he states,
In other words, some people in our culture want too much out of a marriage partner. They do not see marriage as two flawed people coming together to create a space of stability, love and consolation, a “haven in a heartless world,” as Christopher Lasch describes it. Rather, they are looking for someone who will accept them as they are, complement their abilities and fulfill their sexual and emotional desires. This will indeed require a woman who is “a novelist/astronaut with a background in fashion modeling,” and the equivalent in a man. A marriage based not on self-denial but on self-fulfillment will require a low- or no-maintenance partner who meets your needs while making almost no claims on you. Simply put—today people are asking far too much in the marriage partner.
Any two people who enter into marriage are spiritually broken by sin, which among other things means to be self-centered—living life incurvatus in se. As author Denis de Rougemont said, “Why should neurotic, selfish, immature people suddenly become angels when they fall in love … ?” That is why a good marriage is more painfully hard to achieve than athletic or artistic prowess. Raw, natural talent does not enable you to play baseball as a pro or write great literature without enduring discipline and enormous work. Why would it be easy to live lovingly and well with another human being in light of what is profoundly wrong within our human nature? Indeed, many people who have mastered athletics and art have failed miserably at marriage. So the biblical doctrine of sin explains why marriage—more than anything else that is good and important in this fallen world—is so painful and hard.
I know Keller’s words sound so unromantic (according to culture), but in a world where we know how to fall in love but are rather clueless on how to stay in love, I think his words have a certain wisdom.
My thoughts: Marriage is work. A good marriage is even more work. And I think it’s worth every minute of it.
So what do you think? Do you have the right expectations for marriage?
