WISDOM OF THE BIBLE

Monogamy in Marriage

Wayne D. Leeper

 

“Have you not read that ‘He who made them at the beginning made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”

Jesus: Matt.19:4-5 

“Wives, submit to your own husband, as to the Lord.  For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and he is the savior of the body.  Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. . . So husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it. . .”

Apostle Paul:  Eph 6:22-29

 

  The feminist, liberated women and equal rights advocates recoil at the very idea of being in subjection to a man.  To them the teaching of the Bible is subject to interpretation and also full of errors.  They attribute the idea of women being in subjection to a man as the personal opinion of a bigot, and male chauvinist, named Paul.  The whole idea of this passage is written off as nonsense in our liberated and enlightened society.  Yet, if they really understood the depth of commitment required by this simple passage of scripture they would give everything they possess to acquire it.

   We need to consider a few facts in general which will shed light on the wisdom of these verses. 

   First, Christianity is the only religion in the world that requires monogamy in marriage.  There is a very good reason for this.  We live in a male dominated world.  Most of the world is without any source of religion other than their own superstitions, and even in those systems where there is a written code of conduct, those codes have been written by men for the benefit of men.  The Muslim religion, for example, allows for a man to have as many wives as he desires. In almost all primitive societies there are no restrictions on the number of wives a man can have, nor on how he may treat them.

   Ladies, which of the above systems would you choose to live under?  You, because you are female, would be considered chattel; just another piece of property that could be bought and sold at the whelms of your father or owner.  No rights to an education, an opinion, or any choice when it comes to your station or situation in life.  Your children would not belong to you but to you husband and he could remove them from you any time he wanted. I cannot imagine a more miserable position for a woman to be in. But before we turn our attention to how a  woman would be much better off under the Christian system, and why Christianity requires a woman to be in subjection to her husband, we need to consider just what the Bible requires of the husband.

   Men, listen and learn well.  The primary responsibility for the happiness and success of a marriage does not belong to the wife, but to the husband.  The husband is to love the wife as “Christ loved the church.”  How much did Christ love the church?  He loved it enough to give His life for it.  That level of love is known as agape love.  It is a self-sacrificing, unconditional love.  It is the making of a promise that will take an entire lifetime to fulfill.  Her needs, her happiness, and her welfare must always be more important and given more consideration than any thing else in life, even your own. Every decision made can only be made after asking, “What will be best for her?”

   Ladies, do I have your interest yet.  What would you be willing to give for such a man?  Yes, I know that he doesn’t exist but we are talking about the wisdom of God’s way so for just a moment assume that such a man did exist.  He would be there for you in every way and at all times. He would be placing you and your welfare and happiness above his own or anyone else’s.  He would provide you with a loving home, economic security, and all other necessities of life. He would love you more than his own life and gladly give it for you if necessary. Every decision that he made would be made only after considering your wants, needs, and happiness. In return, would you be willing to let him make the final decisions? Would you be willing to “be in subjection to your husband?”

   Men, if you treated her in this manner, there is not a woman in the world that would not respond to this level of love and commitment by making you the most important thing in her life.  She would love you, respect you, and do everything she could to be the very best wife in the world.  She would always be there to lift you up when the world has knocked you down, to stand by you when all others have left, and to love you in spite of all your faults. She would love you and care for you in every way for the rest of her life.

   The world teaches that marriage is a 50%-50% proposition.  God teaches that it is a 100%-100% proposition.  To the husband she is the most wonderful and most beautiful girl in the whole world.  To the wife he is the most loving and most caring man in the whole world.  Together they work to make each other’s life on this earth the very best possible and strive every day to help each other get to heaven.

   That is the relationship between a man and a woman that God visualized when he said that forsaking all others “the two would become on flesh.” There is no other system in which a man and woman can find the level of commitment and fulfillment that can be found in a monogamous marriage.

   Just as in so many other ways, Gods requirement for monogamy in marriage shows the Wisdom of the Bible.