'Honor Begins at Home' - 'Courageous' Marriages

The other night my family & I watched the movie Courageous. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it! This wasn't the first time I had seen it, but it had been awhile. Anyway, one of the lines of the movie really struck me, & I wanted to share it with you.

One of the men in this movie says something really simple, yet profound, when speaking to his friends & co-workers.

"People do not fight for their marriage any more...divorce happens because people make it an option."

I am not here to pass judgement on anyone, and I know that terrible things sometimes happen behind the doors of marriages. There are legitimate reasons for some divorces, or actually, annulments, if that's the case. But I am not getting into that today. Today I am just talking about the option of divorce.

I think the most important thing to remember is love is not a feeling. Sometimes we feel love, but not always. Sometimes your spouse will drive you crazy. Sometimes the things you loved about them when you first met turn into the things you cannot stand. But, that's what being in love is. It's dealing with the big and little things. And, I think that most people have the wrong idea when they enter a marriage.

They may feel in love. They may think, "I could spend the rest of my life with this person." But, in the back of their mind there is this subconscious voice of years of society influence saying, "But if you can't, that's okay too. If you stop feeling in love with them, you can get a divorce." I am not saying people enter into marriages casually because they know they have an easy out, but I am saying that that thought does cross their mind, and they may not even be aware of it. It's terrifying that society has that much power over us.

What needs to happen is, when people enter into a marriage, they agree it is worth fighting for. How did you win the other's heart in the first place? You fought for them. Probably not physically (but you never know), but you fought to win their love and affection, and once you had it you felt in love. If it's true love, it doesn't end because the feeling goes away. You still love them, you just may have to fight harder to see the fruits.

We cannot enter into marriage, knowing it's disposable if it doesn't go the way you planned. If that's the mindset we have, it is over before it began, because we never gave it a chance in the first place. We allow ourselves an easy escape when things get tough. And we have all heard that saying that 'anything worth having is worth fighting for.'

This is true in every area of our lives, and it is even more true in marriages!

Anyway, the quote speaks for itself, and I am sure you could have done without my ramblings, but it is something I feel passionately about! If you are married, keep this quote in your heart, and don't let anything remove it! And, if you are not married, treasure this quote, and keep it close because you may need it one day!

"People do not fight for their marriage any more...divorce happens because people make it an option."

-Courageous