The sanctity of marriage has been eroded!!!

By Honest Mundondo

In an attempt to get companionship for life and build a family, we get into relationships so as to start a family with great hopes that we will settle and grow old together with that chosen person but alas its proving to be near impossible  nowadays.

Donkey years ago,  the sanctity of marriage was held in high esteem,the committment to a union ,raising  children in unison  despite  challenges faced,the relentless effort of couples ,then, was always to keep the family unit.

Over and above the family unit,back then the concern also  encompassed the  well being of extended families from married couples,a norm that not only respected our culture but also helped keeping families together ,tight knit.

Back then , before one   got married, he or she would be taught many things. For instance young ladies were taught to be submissive, respectful to their husbands whilst boys coming of age  were also taught how to respect ladies,work hard to fend for the family as the head of the household

The elderly, Aunts and Uncles played a pivotal role in making sure that before marriage, one would have enough knowledge and reasons to get into relationship or marriage and most importantly knowing the background of the family one wants to marry into, putting into context the Shona saying “rooranai vematongo.”

Nowadays, this has not been the case. The millennials (Gen Y),Gen X and “ama 2k” ge have moved to new ‘norms’  and belief regards issues surrounding marriage,a trend which has disatrasily failed as evident by the high divorce rate estimated to have stood at 44.2percent at the end of 2022.

People are getting married to total strangers which has not been conducive for a successful marriage. The use of online dating websites , long distance relationships and blind dates might be new social techniques but have yielded irresponsible and imature behavior.

Whilst Maturity is an important aspect when it comes to marriage. People are getting married at a very young age lacking the knowledge and importance of the vows they commit to ,not valuing one  another.

Early indulgence in sexual  behiour and an  experimental mindset has led many young people into marriage by default situations and unplanned, early pregnancies.

As much as I would talk about the other causes of divorce, it would make sense to talk about what God says about all this.

Divorce in the Bible is only considered under the exceptional circumstance of sexual immorality which means other than that couples should strive to maintain their union.(Mathew 5 v 32).

Marriage is the oldest institution, extending back to the Garden of Eden. According to the Scriptures God made man and then God made the woman, and subsequently “He brought her to the man” (Gen. 2:22); thus, marriage is ordained by God and was initiated by Him at the time of creation.

As we continue with this topic in the coming few weeks, I will also outline what God says about marriage, sex and companionship. We will also talk about the impact of social media and the role it has played to relationships.

To be continued…

Honest Mundondo writes in his own capacity and the views expressed are his o
own on the topic at hand.He is a devote Christian
For feed back :
honemundondo@gmail.com