“Then Comes Marriage?”
Good morning (or afternoon, evening or night, depending on when you read this)! This morning I was reminded of a little playground rhyme that children used to recite as a torture method, but that was wholesomely indicative of a healthy and proper view of the right way to do family. Any time a boy or girl would say or do anything that might (or might not) hint that he or she “liked” a member of the opposite sex, the children would chant something like “John and Jane, sitting in a tree…,” you know how it goes, “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes John with a baby carriage.” Maybe there are variations out there, but you get the idea.
My question for all of you readers today, well actually a couple of questions, are: (1) Do children still torture one another with this rhyme today? (I hope so) and (2) In your experience, do the majority of people still agree with the basic proposition of that rhyme–do they agree (even if many do not practice it) that marriage ought to come before a baby carriage?
I am, sadly, very well aware that people often do not put what they believe into practice, but these questions are about what most people still believe. If you have a second, pipe in with your answers to the questions, and maybe even enlighten the rest of us with suggestions about how we can strengthen fellow Christians to “do family” in the right order, and influence others to see things rightly.
—JLP
Comments
7 Responses to ““Then Comes Marriage?””
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JLP,
I agree completely that the children have it correct. In principal, love, marriage and then a baby carriage is the order of how the events should unfold. Why this breaks down is a long hard topic. As for anyone who really believes that this order is incorrect, I only have one thing to say. Nanny nanny boo boo!
Tom
Ha! Love that last line. I like witty people. Thanks for the comment. Keep reading!
—JLP
of course that is the way it should be, God has told us how to conduct ourselves in all things and I agree. However…if a person were to become pregnant out of wed lock then lets not bombard them with how wrong they are,or make them feel less of mother or father……… lets surport them. I think we can all be a little more understanding the next time we see a unmarrried mother. You never know maybe she is doing a better job than the rest of us. Her child is not automatically going to achieve less in life.
Needs theirmother and father to be united in marriage. Its the way God would have it and who can disagree with God! Lets remember to love surport and encourage everyone not just members of the Church or who we think is doing right. Lets try to live our lives by an example of understanding.
Thanks for your participation in the discussion, Sara. I don’t think I need to be more understanding the next time I see/interact with an unmarried mother, because I am already full of love and mercy toward them. We need to very boldly proclaim the truth about sex and marriage with a view to healing, changing and converting the world. I agree with and appreciate your basic admonition to us all. Some of us are tempted to be more like the mob than the martyr. It is easy to throw stones, and though the stones can be heavy, Stephen’s was the harder work!
I still wonder how many people out there, both within, and outside the church still view marriage before the bedroom as a matter of genuine right and wrong. I think most people in America (and most of the world for that matter) still hold to the truth in ideal, but fall short of it in practice. That describes all of us in our area of current weakness, right?
What I want to do with my word and example is help those who have not engaged in fornication to continue to refrain from doing so. I want to affect those who have/are engaged in it to stop. I want to affect those who are living out the difficult results of it to experience redemption and allow God to lift them through it to triumph.
Feel free to continue to discuss…
Ielts clarify………I am talking about all members of the Church not you personally. I don’t know you! Here is a quick example of what happened to me last week.
It was a good day I took my kids to the park. I overheard a conversation between two women it went something along the lines of ……..You can tell she is not married and i think she is pregnant again. What kind of life is child going to have has she not heard of contraception. One of the mothers called her child over and told them in no uncertain terms not to play with that little boy. The girl was obvioulsy very young and did not have the matching clothes and shiny hair of the two friends. She was on the ground playing with her son, head to toe in dirt and climbing on the wall. Laughing.
It was a humid day and I took of my sweater I had our VBS shirt on from last year they told me how they went to the Church of Christ also.
That girl, probably between 16 and 20 did not have the diamond ring or the SUV of the perfect casual outfit. I do feel however I would rather have my son play with her child than my sister in Christ. Now that is sad. Honestly that is how I felt and that was what was going through my head when I responded to your comment.
Lets be clear that girl could have been 26 married and as rich as the Queen herself. I am not to know. i do know one thing when you throw dirt you lose ground.
You bring up an excellant point getting to the youth early is essential when you get involved in any kind of sex early in life or at any stage before marriage, you might not think it at the time but you are harming yourself. My advice to any young person is to stay away not just from sex but any situation that your defences may be weakened. Stay strong for each other.
Lets ALL be filled with love and mercy towards everyone as Wayne said in a previous sermon. We will be with our sisters and brothers in Heaven one day. Wouldn’t it be awful to be trying to avoid someone in Heaven! That is something I have to work on (one of many)
Lets ALL applaude the strugglers in our own personal life and our Church Family. Helping people to live with courage ,face the failures with honesty, to get up and try again. Lets call all our family not to neglect the hero of their soul
Amen. I agree with you Sara. Please keep reading and contributing to the discussion of these blogs! This kind of healthy thought-producing discussion is exactly what we’re looking for. Thanks.
—JLP
Marriage. I think the problem is that christians and non believers do not understand marriage. I believe in order to win the new generation, one should teach about marriage before the teenage years.
Marriage is a direct representation of our relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. Songs of Solomon demonstrates to us the passion that Christ has for us as his bride. Its not sexual but still a love that goes beyond anything we would ever imagine.
If we could teach the connection between Christ,/Church and Man /Wife. How can words express the true endless love. This has to be taught by the Holy Spirit, you know the one that leads us into ALL TRUTH.
The single Mom that is not saved can be reconciled to God. The Holy Spirit can lead thru people who are willing to share that God has made away. That is the gospel. If that single Mom is lead to the Lord and she becomes born again, she will recieve grace and a new life. That is the answer, our being caring and supportive must lead to the cross. Is it more important to find happiness or eternal life. If our compassion is for this life, then we are actually leading people away from the cross. We must become mature so that we can lead others to the Grace of Christ.
The discussion that mny