12/JESUS
12/2 RESPECT MARRIAGE
THE GOODNESS OF MARRIAGE. The book of Genesis states that
God created human beings making them to
be like himself. He created them male and female, blessed them, and said to
accept God's gift of children. From the very beginning, God established
marriage of one man and one woman to bear children and to govern the world.
This arrangement cannot be changed but must be maintained as God had arranged.
Marriage is God's sacred plan for man and woman.
LOVE EACH OTHER. St. Paul reminds husbands to love their
wives and wives must love and respect their husbands. There must be genuine
care for the good of each other. There must be communication so as to
understand the hopes, desires, and problems of one another. There must be
compromise on matters where there are different points of view. Jesus taught us
of the permanency of marriage as marriage is a commitment for life.
BE PURE IN THOUGHT AND IN DEED. Jesus taught that not only
adultery is prohibited but "Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has
already committed adultery with her in his heart." One must avoid viewing
pornographic material and going to places that would lead one to sin. One must
avoid impure acts. Joseph, the son of Jacob, while serving his master refused
to sin with the master's wife who wanted to sleep with him.
The sixth and ninth commandments, "You should not commit
adultery."
