The Case for Early Marriage

In a recent edition of Christianity Today, Mark Regnerus wrote the cover story on "The Case for Early Marriage." This is a thought process that I think many of us hardly think about. Let me share with you some key quotes in his article.

-Just under 80 percent of unmarried, church-going, conservative Protestants who are currently dating someone are having sex of some sort.
-Evangelicals tend to marry slightly earlier that other Americans, but not by much. Many of them plan to marry in their mid-20s. Yet waiting for sex until then feels far too long to most of them. And I am suggesting that when people wait until their mid-to-late 20s to marry, it is unreasonable to expect them to refrain from sex. It's battling our Creator's reproductive designs.
-Among evangelical churchgoers, there are about three single women for every two single men.
-God does work miracles. But the fact remains that there just aren't as many serious Christian young men as there are women, and the men know it.
-We buy, read, and pass along books about battling our sexual urges, when in face we are battling them far longer than we were meant to.
-Many of us think about marriage much like those outside the church-as a capstone that completes the life of the autonomous self.
-The focus of 20-somethings has become less about building mature relationships and fulfilling responsibilities, and more about enjoying oneself, traveling, and trying on identities and relationships. After all the fun, it will be time to settle down and get serious.
-The mentality that we need to shield young adults from the usual struggles of life by encouraging them to delay marriage until they are financially secure usually rests on an unrealistic standard of living.
-Marrying simply for the lure of sex is not what Paul had in mind.
-Family and friends ought to do their best to help young couples discern whether there is more to their love than sexual desire.
-The fact is that God makes no promises of great sex to those who wait. Some experience difficult marriages. Spouses wander. Others cannot conceive children...
-While sex matters, marriage matters more. The importance of Christian marriage as a symbol of God's covenantal faithfulness to his people-and a witness to the future union of Christ and his bride-will only grow in significance as the wider Western culture diminishes both the meaning and actual practice of marriage. Marriage itself will become a witness to the gospel.
-If a young couple displays maturity, faith, fidelity, a commitment to understand marriage as a covenant, and a sense of realism about marriage, then it's our duty-indeed, our pleasure-to help them expedite the part of marriage that involves public recognition and celebration of what God is already knitting together. We ought to "rejoice and delight" in them, and praise their love (Song of Sol. 1:4)

You can find the full article at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/16.22.html