Married

The downward spiral for marriage in our society continues.  Marriage was once a serious lifelong commitment made by two people who loved one another. The marriage may or may not have resulted from family involvement, but it was not entered into lightly, and definitely not for entertainment.  The attitude has drastically changed.  With the explosion of “reality” shows on television, we are now treated to one that lets America pick couples for marriage.  The couples are chosen, as I understand it, by the viewers without any previous contact.

Does anyone see a problem with this program?  Apparently one television station in the Raleigh-Durham area does.  According to Religion Today Summaries, an e-mail summary of news impacting believers, “WRAZ of Raleigh-Durham, has pulled the plug on the sludge. The Fox affiliate refuses to air the reality series "Married by America" because it demeans and exploits the institution of marriage.”

The one possible defense made for the program is the ancient practice of arranged marriages.  In many ancient cultures, and some present day ones, the mate for a son or daughter is arranged by the parents of the bride and groom.  Is the Fox program different?  Yes, very different.  In the arranged marriages of other cultures, the parents are the ones choosing their child’s mate. They are motivated by a desire to choose wisely for the future of their child.  The television program, on the other hand, has complete strangers choosing the couples to marry based on entertainment value.

Marriage is far too serious a matter to be entered into in such a manner.  God intends marriage be one man and one women joined together for one lifetime. (see Genesis 2:18f; Matthew 19:3ff; Romans 7:2,3) What happens to these marriages if the people involved “wake up” one day to realize “they made a mistake?”  The answer is probably “divorce” which God hates Malachi 2:16.

—Denny