Marriage and the Economy---Can’t Buy Me Love
The other day I heard a report on the economy where the new jobs created numbers were being reported. Everyone was excited about the 162,000 jobs that had been created even though the unemployment rate had not dropped and the majority of the jobs being talked about were temporary and seasonal. The census helped 2010 in a temporary way. This news was very distributing to me. So distributing that I sat down and wrote a letter to President Obama, have not mailed yet but I did write it. The letter basically informs President Obama on the state of my America. As I wrote, all I could see was that middle class Americans like me and many others would never be the same. America was changing, not the President’s fault but changing still the same. My spirit was broken by what many couples have to face; so I started looking up statics to see how finances really impacted marriages. I also looked up these numbers for my own research because Marcus and I noticed that when our local area was hit hard by layoffs our couples training class sizes were on the increase.
Question: Is finances an issue for marriages? Why?
The static that troubled me the most was that one half of all couples making $25,000 annually or less would divorce within 10 years of marring. This static was true for all couples regardless of race, religion, age, or any other factor. The article on legal zoom also said that the divorce rate increases during a recession. I guess that answered my question about why our classes had increased in size. This static made me think about how we as a country had really changed. In the 1940’s after WW II when the country was in recession, love, marriage and babies were the norm. Money was not the glue that held families together love was. What happened? Is it all about money or does love make the world go round? Maybe I am a dreamer but I remember a vow within my marriage vows that states for richer or for poorer; taking this vow means that marriages should not fail because your funds become low. Hey I understand how things are played and that money is listed as power. That lack is always a source of stress but why can’t love cover lack. The first chapter of the book of James teaches us about lack and how to overcome it. We are to have patience when we go through. Patience teaches us how to endure the obstacles of life and this will remove lack. So what is patience? Patience is love in action, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 informs us that love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails… Wow love vs. money; with a descriptive definition of love like the one in 1 Corinthians I see no comparison between money and love. Give me love any day of the week; with it and because of it I am complete, whole, lacking nothing. Money is just paper that will wither away, but love is here to stay.
Thank you for reading,
Gloria Whyte
For Healthy Marriages:
http://forhealthymarriages.ning.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/For-Healthy-Marriages/110735218949258
© 2010, Marcus Whyte23. All rights reserved.
So, this is what I have been talking about! People who understand that money means nothing, literally, are more successful in life. Think about what money is...it is paper that we have given a value and that if we mismanaged can ruin our lives. People in other countries do not work as much as we do, because they value family/relationships over money. They understand what is most important. God, family, and others. MONEY is not in that equation. Until Americans realize that we are ruining our lives to chase things, we will continue in this cycle. Things will not be here tomorrow, but we are steadily basing our lives off of accomplishing success (money and power). I told one guy I was dating, no one will remember the CEO of Walmart ten years from now, but everyone will always remember Mother Teresa and Dr. MLK Jr. That statement alone reminds us that money is temporary, relationships are everlasting.
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ReplyDeleteThank you so much for taking the time to read my posting...you've expressed some powerful words throughout your statement. Thanks again for the feedback!
Amen and Amen...