Plain Truth: Save our marriage campaign

Date: 29 August 2014   Read: 568

In our reflection last week, it became clear that the institution of marriage is under serious threat.

Attacks on marriage and family are coming from all over, but we can’t fold our arms and do nothing about it. We as a society need to rise to the challenge. We need to mobilise couples, churches, civic structures, political organisations and non-governmental organisations with an interest in saving marriages, among others, to run this campaign.

The campaign, in my mind, is not about saving marriages in terms of helping couples to stay married. We need to think more of promoting and sustaining healthy marriages. I am saying this because of persons who stay married in the eyes of people whilst having divorced years back.

These are people who continue sharing the same house and the same bedroom but are no longer engaging in sex for instance. They remain in marriages of convenience – some remain for the sake of money whilst others remain for the sake of children.

Others are staying together, but are spiritually connected with persons other than their husbands and wives. Think of a person who is hooked by the social media to the point of having an extra-marital affair(s) online through Facebook. He or she might not be physically engaging the other person, but spiritual infidelity in this instance has caused lots of harm. You become more interested in the person you are hooked up with on Facebook than your wife or husband.

Healthy marriages are what our society needs, not just people staying together out of convenience. Our campaign therefore entails not only highlighting and dealing with small foxes that seek to destroy our marriages but also ensuring that we come up with programmes that will nourish our marriages to be healthy. Churches and other organisations in our society should start such programmes as marriage enrichment seminars, conferences, workshops and so on. Pastors should also be encouraged to provide counselling for free as part of their community work.

The success of this campaign lies in taking back marriage to the founder. God is the founder, healer and perfector of our marriages. He is the Alpha and Omega of our marriages and therefore all the programmes should not leave God out of what we do. “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labour in vain” (Psalm 127:1a). If we can all rise up to the challenge, we can all save lots of marriages. - Prof Derrick Mashau, ([email protected])