Our thoughts lead to actions. Continuous actions result in habits. Developed habits mold our character. And no matter what we outwardly portray to others, it is our inner character that determines our happiness and success, or our misery and ultimate destruction. Because this is true, the question for those who are married must be – will the current thoughts that I allow or entertain result in actions that will develop trust, strengthen the relationship, and result in a happy and successful marriage?

In regards to marriage, what is love? Without question, it is a wonderful romantic feeling and attraction two people feel for each other. However, it is – and must be – much more than simply a feeling (or a thought). Love is a verb; and thus, it absolutely requires action to stay alive!

So, is it possible to ‘fall out of love’? While many marriages unfortunately do fail for a variety of reasons, if one is trying to justify a divorce by using the phrase of ‘I fell out of love,’ they should ask – did I, or did I choose to? Using that unfortunate phrase is often just an excuse for a lack of ability to control one’s thoughts, a cover up of another selfish reason, or simply a lack of effort to show the necessary ‘action’ to keep love alive.

It is important to note though, that individuals and families everywhere are daily bombarded and influenced by the immoral TV shows and movies, advertisements and commercials, and the websites and magazines that fill our minds and eyes with thoughts and images that certainly don’t contribute in any way to building and strengthening marriages. Companies profit from immorality, and in the process – values are mocked, infidelity is portrayed as acceptable, lives are destroyed, and families fall apart. At a time when children most need parents committed to each other, and to the family, the influences of our sexually liberal society continually win by slowly getting men (and women) to think improper thoughts, that lead to actions, and then to habits, and eventually to yet another marriage and family being destroyed.

Thankfully, there are good men and women everywhere who stay true to their commitments regardless of how difficult life may get, or how culturally popular and acceptable infidelity is portrayed by the media. And let us never forget that the media’s only purpose and goal is to create shock value and make money – not to portray the actual commonly-held values that keep our society strong. Thus, may we always remember that the temporary and selfish satisfaction we obtain from improper thoughts and actions always result in misery, guilt, regret, and possible failure. Comparatively, living up to commitments, daily putting forth effort to be faithful in thought and action, and never fleeing from our responsibilities to our spouse and children – these are the very things that cultivate our inner character, keep our society strong, and always results in personal happiness and marital / family success.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 13th, 2011 at 2:57 pm and is filed under Strengthen Family & Marriage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.