Successful marriages have God at its center.  Marriage is “a give and take” between couples.  At times there’s much joy and peace, but in instances there can be sadness, and trials with a variety of problems.  However, if a couple’s faith is in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, rest assured they would be able to live triumphantly, and weather the storms of life.  Mignon McLaughlin (1913–1983), a journalist and author was sure: “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.”  This is quite true.  McLaughlin recognized that there won’t always be happiness in a marriage.  There will be ups and downs, disagreements and arguments, but at the end of the day a couple realizes no one’s perfect.  They know the power of forgiveness.  It’s certain that after a misunderstanding they’ll never fail to be reconciled.

The welfare of the home has to be a top priority for a marriage to be successful.  That’s why loving couples put their family first.  A husband and wife are sensitive to each other needs. This is seen in building a loving home.  A family recognized as C.S. Lewis (1898–1963), a British novelist, poet and lay theologian, “The homemaker has the ultimate career.  All other careers exist for one purpose only … to support the ultimate career.”  It’s best that homemaking responsibilities are therefore shared by both couples.

 Mariella Frostrup (b. 1962), a UK based journalist and television presenter said, “The point of the feminist movement wasn’t simply to set our underwear on fire and muscle into small spaces in the male-dominated workplace, but to create a world where the contributions of both sexes was equally valued and no one’s worth was judged on their take-home salary.”   Such a concept is still alive today.  But these views might not be well received in some fundamental Christian denominations.

Children in Marriage

In marriages our children may be influenced positively or negatively.  In the American society it’s often believed children raised in single-family homes aren’t considered as a desirable form of parenting.  Some of these children find themselves with more problems unlike those in two-family households.

David A. Bednar (b. 1952), a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, observed “A home with a loving and loyal husband and wife is the supreme setting in which children can be reared in love and righteousness and in which the spiritual and physical needs of children can be met.”  Bednar stressed the love and loyalty of a couple in providing the ideal setting in raising children.  Yet today, there are quite a few single-family homes, and more than fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce.

Marriages are further complicated by same-sex couples with rights to adopt kids, as well as blended family structures.  Immanuel Kant (1724–1804), a German philosopher wrote, “Morality is not the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness.”  It’s certain that worldly desires aren’t the answer.