3. God created marriage for the protection of children.
God invented marriage for the protection of children. We all know that kids grow better, healthier, stronger when they grow up in a stable family with a mom and a dad.God knew that human children needed a safe environment. And you were going to need somebody to feed you and dress you and nurture you. You were going to need somebody to protect you, to guide you, to train you, to care for you and all these things.
That’s why at Saddleback we don’t believe in orphanages. We don’t fund orphanages. We don’t build orphanages. Why? Because no kid deserves to grow up in an institution. They deserve to grow up in a family. It’s more important to help finance a family to take that child in. Proverbs 14:26 says, “Those who obey and respect the Lord have a secure fortress; their children have a place of refuge and security.” Kids need to be able to grow up in a home that is a refuge.
4. God created marriage for the perfection of our character.
God created marriage for the perfection of our character. It is in relationships that we learn to be unselfish and to be loving. And no relationship has a greater impact on your life than marriage, if you get married. Maturity and the purpose of life is to grow up and realize it’s not all about you. Life is a laboratory of learning how to love. Why is love the most important thing in life? Because God is love. And God wants you to become like him. He wants you to learn how to love. We learn to love and learn to be unselfish.
The Bible says this in Proverbs 18:1, “It’s selfish and stupid to think only of yourself.” Marriage is a lifelong course in learning to be unselfish because once I get married, I can no longer think about me. I’ve got to think about we.
The number one tool that God uses in your life to build Christ-like character if you are married is your spouse. Oh no! Yep! Because every day you get hundreds of opportunities to not think about you. You get opportunities to think of the other person, to care about them. The number one purpose of marriage is to make me holy, not happy. That is countercultural, but it is the truth.
5. God created marriage for the construction of society.
Marriage is the fundamental building block of every community, church, state, nation, society and culture. If you know anything about history, you know that where marriages are strong, cultures and nations are strong. You know that wherever marriages and families are weak, cultures and nations are in decline.
