Marriage and Maslow: A Worthy Critic?

There's an awful lot of "talk" about marriage these days: gay rights activists, Southern Baptist preachers, same-sex union advocates, etc. Of course, the doctrines and truths of the Word of God are all that will matter in terms of eternity, so, no, I'm not going to enter that fray, here. We know that truth wins in the end. What's interesting, though are the personalities who choose to leave their comments out there in the public.

We could defend the truths of the Scripture by bashing the antagonist, but that's not how I was taught. I grew up studying the Scripture in a manner that encourages me to lovingly convict the unsaved or unchurched in order that they might experience the love, joy and peace that God wants us to experience. How do we turn people back toward what is most beneficial for them, not just spiritually, but physically, as well? Simple, we demonstrate the truths of the Scripture:

Husbands, Hebrews 13:4 reminds us to "let marriage be held in honor among all," and Genesis 24:67 tells us, regarding Isaac, that Rebekah "became his wife, and he loved her." (I found it interesting that the writer of the books of the law saw fit to include Isaac's heart for his wife...excellent). Wives, Peter encourages you to act in such a way that if your husbands get out of line, they will see your life and without one word from you, they will be convicted to change their behavior (1 Pet. 3:1), and Timothy encouraged wives to be faithful, loving, holy, and modest (1 Timothy 2:15 CEV)

But, remember, there will be those who are completely unaware of the beauty of God's divine instruction about marriage and the responsibilities with which both husband and wife have been entrusted. In fact, just this week, a clueless 21-year-old wannabe columnist posted the following article to ThoughtCatalog.com. And while thoughtcatalog.com is not the most reputable location for cold, hard facts, the audible newscast, Umano thought wise to include it in their weekly collection. Yes, that's right: a paid voice actor actually took time to read and record this, so we could all hear it with our weekly news digest. Oh well...read and discern, my brothers and sisters in Christ...read AND discern (oh yeah, and don't be too hard on his grammar). Ugh.

6 Reasons Why Getting Married Isn’t Really That Important AnymoreBy DEREK MARSHALL - OCT. 23, 2013

1.Couples Are Moving In Together

It used to be #forbidden move. But now, couples left and right are moving in with each other before getting the ring–thus, implying that moving in isn’t necessarily even an implication that the ring is a-comin. And moving in together–AKA living with another person you are intimate with–is arguably a bigger step than marriage; you’re implying that no matter what happens, you’re in this for the long haul.

2. The Rise Of Monogamy Haterz

As humans have progressed, they’ve employed their critical thinking skills in a fashion that challenges things people used to never question. Religion mostly, but also monogamy. Which, in addition to being voiced through countless articles on the internet, can be somewhat backed up statistically; as of August over 7.8 million people were paid subscribers to AshleyMadison.com, a website for spouses who wish to cheat on their husbands.

3. It’s No Longer A Necessity

Carrie Bradshaw and general progressivism have made single womanhood significantly more socially acceptable. Being 35 and not needing no man is a lot more OK than it once was. This is a good thing.

4. Openness About Divorce

Again, this is more a function of the statistic than anything else. According to the google search I just conducted, the divorce rate for first marriages in the United States is 41%. People have no choice but to be real about divorce, because the person they’re talking to probably got divorced.

5. The Endless Flood Of Social Media Updates

There’s an old adage that says “because we now have Facebook, nothing is sacred.” Maybe it’s just me, but–when wedding photos become predicated on how many likes they get, the whole thing a feels a little less meaningful.

6. Abraham Maslow

Abraham Maslow is a psychology dude who talks about the hierarchy of needs. It is a pyramid that connotes in order to achieve the item above, you need to have a strong sense of the level you’re currently on. For example, only when you satisfy your basic needs (survival) can you satisfy your safety needs (comfort).

The top item of the period is self-actualization, which translates into the realization of one’s full potential. Maslow notes that autonomy, comfortable acceptance of self, and comfort with solitude are all crucial components of self-actualization. Marriage can sometimes connote dependance on another human, which prohibits one from reach this self-actualized state. A marriage then, can be severely limiting.