Well, the Golden Bachelor is getting divorced. Fans of the ABC reality show were surprised to learn the couple that captured their hearts last season were wed for exactly 100 days (about two days for each day of filming the show). I’m not picking on Gerry and Theresa, but do we really expect a competition to be the foundation of a covenantal relationship? This man went from one date to the next, making out with women and telling them he loved them, only to agonize over picking a winner. That isn’t exactly the stuff of fairy tales.
That this is considered entertainment speaks to a broader problem in this country. Other reality shows, such as 90 Day Fiancé, prove this point. Turn on any sitcom and the bachelor life is glamorized while the married man has to sneak around the “old ball and chain.” Hebrews 13:4 says, “Let marriage be held in honor among all,” but it is not held in honor in pop culture.
People can enter into these ill-advised marriages because they have an easy way out. I saw a billboard that advertised “10 Minute Divorce.” I’m not making light of those who have been divorced, but when we treat the dissolution of a marriage like it is a fast food menu item, we are not holding marriage in honor. Divorce shouldn’t be quicker than an oil change. How do you say, “Till death do us part,” and announce you are parting 100 days later?
We also dishonor marriage when we redefine it. The Supreme Court in Obergfell told the States they could not ban same-sex marriages, even though God defined marriage as being between a man and a woman, and Jesus affirmed it as being that way “from the beginning (Matthew 19:4-6).”
Another way we dishonor marriage is when we violate the next phrase: “and let the marriage bed be undefiled.” The marriage bed (literally “the bed of conception” in Greek) has been defiled in America, as people treat it as if there are no rules, but the author concludes, “for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
The dishonoring of marriage is a ploy of the devil; he hates marriage because God holds it in high honor. But let marriage be held in honor among all, especially among the people of God.
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