Committed
Refined by Marriage - Part 1
It holds a shallow meaning today, mostly as a result of the way hollywood movies portray it. We typically find husbands or husbands-to-be tempted by beautiful women. When the man resists, staying true to his wife of fiance, a warm feeling seeps into our brains and we smile. We're led to believe that this man is committed to his wife.
The trouble is that, that's a poor and unrealistic view of commitment and it has little to do with what being married or committed to someone actually means. A man can never cheat on his wife and at the same time hardly be committed to her. A marriage purifies and refines a man or a woman when their commitment to their spouse results in empathy and selflessness. It's in the reality that we all carry a significant degree of this ugly selfishness with us most of our single lives. When we get married we find the need to refine that ugliness into something good and better.
When each decision and each action directly affect the life of the person you made a commitment to, your decisions and actions change. When you take that commitment seriously, you begin to change. The question of fidelity is a small one. The question of loving your spouse is a tremendous one.
Committing to your spouse in sickness and health, for richer or poor is an act of refining your dignity and character. It is likely that this act is the thing that refines your dignity and character most of all.
Broaden your view of commitment. You will be better for it.
It holds a shallow meaning today, mostly as a result of the way hollywood movies portray it. We typically find husbands or husbands-to-be tempted by beautiful women. When the man resists, staying true to his wife of fiance, a warm feeling seeps into our brains and we smile. We're led to believe that this man is committed to his wife.
The trouble is that, that's a poor and unrealistic view of commitment and it has little to do with what being married or committed to someone actually means. A man can never cheat on his wife and at the same time hardly be committed to her. A marriage purifies and refines a man or a woman when their commitment to their spouse results in empathy and selflessness. It's in the reality that we all carry a significant degree of this ugly selfishness with us most of our single lives. When we get married we find the need to refine that ugliness into something good and better.
When each decision and each action directly affect the life of the person you made a commitment to, your decisions and actions change. When you take that commitment seriously, you begin to change. The question of fidelity is a small one. The question of loving your spouse is a tremendous one.
Committing to your spouse in sickness and health, for richer or poor is an act of refining your dignity and character. It is likely that this act is the thing that refines your dignity and character most of all.
Broaden your view of commitment. You will be better for it.
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