Da, da, dot, da, da, dot!

So I was listening to a sports talk show this morning on the radio and the guy talking was covering the topic of recently resigned Governor Eliot Spitzer from New York. (click here for story) He threw out a few statistics that I have heard before, though have never heard where they came from. He said 55% of marriages end in divorce. He also said that of marriages that stay intact, 70% of those consider themselves unhappy. Based on these stats, and the increasing number of high profile politicians, teachers, Pastors, musicians, and movie stars that quit on their marriage or commit a gross sexual transgression (affairs, prostitution, pornography, etc) that we (society) may need to change how we view marriage.

One of his suggestions was to treat marriages like sports contracts. Instead of making a life long commitment to someone, just make a contractual agreement with them. He suggested 5-10 years at a time. Are you kidding me? The logic was, if something isn’t working, then society needs to be smart enough and brave enough to evaluate it and make changes. He went on to say that most divorces are within the first 7 years, so that may be a good number to aim for in a marriage contract. I was not only surprised by the logic, but with the inconsequentiality that the host and the audience displayed for marriage.

Here are some thoughts that I had as I listened:

Society and culture are more unwilling than ever to accept any form of absolute truth as a governing factor in their life.

What am I doing, as a follower of Christ, a believer in Biblical, moral, and ethical absolutes, as a married person, and as a contributing member of society to be an example of what I believe marriage to be?

How do my neighbors perceive my marriage to be based on how they see me interact with my wife?

It seems as if people are more willing to change belief systems, truth, and societal norms than they are themselves.

For people that are not followers of Jesus, and therefore do not use the Bible as the sole means for Truth, how do they decide what they believe, and what do they use to measure their lives by?

Maybe I should just stop listening to the radio.