Val's Day, Wedding's Night

Soppy lilacs and gaudy pinks this day characterise entire sections of supermarkets, while smaller shops have created intricate window displays using red, heart-shaped balloons and cute, furry toys. Valentine’s Day is upon us, and the businessmen and high street entrepreneurs espy a fine opportunity to relieve our wallets and purses of some hard-earned coin. Red roses for the wife, carnations for the girlfriend, mysterious cards for the Crush, anonymous chocolates for the disappointed grandson.

The Independent newspaper asked last month:

Why have we fallen out of love with marriage?

It explained:

For the first time on record, the number of people who are married has dropped below 50 per cent in England and Wales. Helen Coffey asks the experts why getting hitched is no longer the norm

It’s the latest stat proving the immutable fact that marriage is on the decline. And not just in the UK – it’s a trend that’s happening in countries all over the world. Almost 90 per cent of the world’s population now live in countries with falling marriage rates; in the US, marriage has decreased by 60 per cent since the 1970s.

Although some marriages can be abusive and loveless, it is still the God-given institution for men and women to express their love and enjoy physical relations. As the West and the Rest move away from Biblical foundations and Christian heritage, we should not marvel that marriage is compromised and falling out of fashion. Selfishness, pornography, fornication and other factors will all have played a part in this apparent decline. It is worth reminding Westerners in particular, that marital love is not primarily concerned with sex and pleasure, but mutual support, co-operation, sharing and caring. A good marriage outlasts passions and concupiscence, for it is a formalised, contractual friendship. As our culture gradually abandons it, we expose ourselves for the hedonistic, self-centred and godless creatures we truly are.

Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.

Proverbs 31:10-11, New King James Version

Image by Julita from Pixabay