Marriage under attack.

(edit: As discussed/mentioned on Dave Monk's radio phone-in BBC Essex 25.11.08. Dave Monk referred to my emails to him on this subject and there were clearly many people of the same opinion about this illicit affairs website. On the other side, there were a number of people who claim that using the illicit affairs website to conduct affairs whilst remaining married effectively saved their marriage. My point made was that surely such issues & problems are better discussed within the marriage and also the problem is when/if the offended party find out about the affair. Also by encouraging people in this way, over time feelings can perhaps be transferred and what started perhaps with the intention of having the affair but staying married could still end up with divorce. It is a slippery slope and undermines marriage,

On my drive to work over the last couple of weeks I have been driving past an advertising banner encouraging people to join an illicit affairs website with the comment “Married...but looking for more?” From the website in question “Whatever your reason, we can help. You may be locked in a loveless marriage, starved of attention and affection, partner away or too tired to pay you the attention you deserve, non-existent love life? Or just looking for some excitement in your life? But you don't want to end your marriage either. Here you can meet people just like you, in absolute confidence.”

I am disgusted by this and it really highlights the terrible state our country finds itself in. In 2006, Ed Balls(Children's Secretary) issued something called the Children's Plan, it did not mention marriage once. It seems the Government is intent on destroying marriage whether this is through the benefits system or in some other area of policy.

We all know that the number of people getting married and making that commitment has been going down over the last century. The figures, from the Office for National Statistics in 2006 show that fewer than ten in every 1,000 single adults in England and Wales were married and although recent figures have been influenced because of the work being done to end sham marriages in some ethnic minorities, the numbers committing to getting married continues to fall. The implications are enormous for children and society and we are only now beginning to realise some of the problems it can cause.

Despite being bombarded with all this, it is important as Christians to stand up for the institution of marriage despite the problems many have within marriages. It takes a lot of work and patience to build something well and there is always going to be times of disagreement and conflict. Perhaps we need to make time as Christian couples to sit down and pray together and read the Bible more often, maybe doing this will stop some of the issues we may face as couples and as families. No doubt it is very difficult in the society we live in to find the time, especially with work commitments and getting the kids up, washed, dressed, fed and off to school or nursery. It is hard in this break-neck-speed world we live in, but you know, I think even if it is a case of a quick time of prayer and a bible reading round the breakfast table then I think we would benefit from it. I can distinctly remember my grandfather a very godly man, every breakfast time he would do a reading and a prayer for all the family and grandchildren, mentioning us all by name. Those sort of memories tend to stay with us and it seems to me to have been a good one to remember, I am going to try and do this myself starting from tomorrow – will let you know how I get on.