Not Getting Married
Parramatta politician, Ross Cameron, caused controversy recently when he said that many young men do not want to get married, but prefer just to live with a woman. He said this not only raised the issue of the morality of living together, but was contributing to the declining birth rate that endangers the future of our country.
One University research program has revealed the reasons men want to live with women-reasons that not only insult women, but make them big losers on the domestic front. The report is called “Why Men Won’t Commit: Exploring Young Men’s Attitudes about Sex, Dating, and Marriage.” The study offers the top ten reasons men are reluctant to say, “I do.” Among them: They can get all the sex they want without marriage. They want to enjoy the single life as long as possible. They want to avoid the financial pitfalls of divorce. And they’re afraid marriage will demand too many changes and compromises. Apparently, their live-in girlfriends can get used to their bad habits or leave. Most galling of all is the admission by men that they don’t want to marry their girlfriends because they’re waiting for their “true love” to come along. Then they’ll tie the knot, buy a home, and father kids. Meanwhile, their live-ins can pick up their socks and provide sex-on-demand. Grandma was right: Men won’t buy the cow if they can get the milk free. (Charles Colson)
If you read the Bible you will see how carefully the ancient Israelites protected unmarried women: they knew how predatory, how utterly selfish, men can be. Taking on the responsibilities of a wife and children involved hard work that would last a lifetime. And men were only motivated to shoulder those responsibilities because their culture demanded it.
Modern women have far more freedom of movement than their sisters in the ancient world. But human nature is still fallen. This means that men are as predatory as ever-and women today are paying the price for it in a culture that doesn’t demand marriage.
I hope this report serves as a wake-up call to women who think men who want to cohabit have marriage on their minds. Most of them do not. Pastors ought to make this report a subject of a sermon. And if they know couples in their congregations are living together, they ought to encourage them to either marry-or separate. If enough women take notice of what read we say, maybe the day will come when men who invite women to just live with them will get what they deserve: a smack in the kisser!
This is GORDON MOYES.
