First Love (1 of 3)
Series: Something Old Something New
Jeff Strite
Revelation 2:1-7
OPEN: At the banquet of Tom and Susan's 25th wedding anniversary, Tom was asked to give his friends a brief account of the benefits of a marriage of such long duration. ''Tell us, Tom, just what is it you have learned from all those wonderful years with your wife?''
Tom responded, ''Well, I've learned that marriage is the best teacher of all. It teaches you loyalty, forbearance, meekness, self-restraint, forgiveness (pause) and a great many other qualities you wouldn't need to know if you'd stayed single.''
APPLY: God loves marriage.
He performed the first marriage in the garden between Adam and Eve.
In fact, the main reason God created Eve from the rib of Adam was because (as He said) ''it is not good that the man should be alone.'' Genesis 2:18
One of the reasons God didn't want man to be alone was because marriage changes us. It improves our lives and transforms us into something we could never have become alone.
One of the ways it changes us is by making us live longer.
Repeated studies have found (as one study did) that compared to married people:
Those who had been divorced or separated were 27 percent more likely to have shorter lives. Those who had never been married were 58 percent more likely to die than married folks.
And the ''penalty'' for not getting married was greater for men than women.
(Rob Stein The Washington Post 8/20/06)
Another study found that being married makes one better off financially.
Back in 1985, researchers began a 15 year study of 9000 individuals
And they found respondents who remained single had a slow but steady growth of wealth.
But those who married and stayed married showed a sharp increase in wealth.
The author of the study Jay Zagorsy summed up his findings saying,
''If you really want to increase your wealth, get married and stay married. On the other hand, divorce can devastate your wealth.''
(Reuters, ...
Series: Something Old Something New
Jeff Strite
Revelation 2:1-7
OPEN: At the banquet of Tom and Susan's 25th wedding anniversary, Tom was asked to give his friends a brief account of the benefits of a marriage of such long duration. ''Tell us, Tom, just what is it you have learned from all those wonderful years with your wife?''
Tom responded, ''Well, I've learned that marriage is the best teacher of all. It teaches you loyalty, forbearance, meekness, self-restraint, forgiveness (pause) and a great many other qualities you wouldn't need to know if you'd stayed single.''
APPLY: God loves marriage.
He performed the first marriage in the garden between Adam and Eve.
In fact, the main reason God created Eve from the rib of Adam was because (as He said) ''it is not good that the man should be alone.'' Genesis 2:18
One of the reasons God didn't want man to be alone was because marriage changes us. It improves our lives and transforms us into something we could never have become alone.
One of the ways it changes us is by making us live longer.
Repeated studies have found (as one study did) that compared to married people:
Those who had been divorced or separated were 27 percent more likely to have shorter lives. Those who had never been married were 58 percent more likely to die than married folks.
And the ''penalty'' for not getting married was greater for men than women.
(Rob Stein The Washington Post 8/20/06)
Another study found that being married makes one better off financially.
Back in 1985, researchers began a 15 year study of 9000 individuals
And they found respondents who remained single had a slow but steady growth of wealth.
But those who married and stayed married showed a sharp increase in wealth.
The author of the study Jay Zagorsy summed up his findings saying,
''If you really want to increase your wealth, get married and stay married. On the other hand, divorce can devastate your wealth.''
(Reuters, ...
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