God designed marriage to be so beautiful, that everyone who marries according to His plans get a lifetime of joy and wonder. The devil, however, wants to blind all men from seeing just how beautiful and God-glorifying marriage could be, and will do all that it takes to spoil it.
One of the ways he does this is through inserting wrong ideas and views about marriage.
Having the wrong ideas about marriage can spoil it. Single Christians longing to marry, then, should be careful about their views and thoughts on marriage. It's wonderful alright, but it's not what many think it is.
Wrong ideas to avoid
To help single Christians approach marriage the right way, here are some wrong ideas about it. I'm sure these thoughts are pretty common - you find them in romantic-comedy shows, as well as dysfunctional and broken marriages (the perfect sources for wrong marriage ideas), but probably didn't realize that you already believed in them.
1) That a spouse will "complete" you
Here's a common thought glorified by some romantic-comedy movies: the idea that finding the right spouse will "complete" you like the final missing piece in a 1,000,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. This is very wrong.
So many single men and women live their single lives in pursuit of that one person they believe will complete their incompleteness, take away their loneliness, and fill the hole they have in their heart.
Well, so many married men and women have married who they thought is that missing piece and yet still they find themselves incomplete, lonely, and worse, longing to get out of the relationship. This is why some divorces and separations happen.
Marriage won't complete you, guys. If you enter marriage broken and incomplete without God, chances are you might get even more broken. Colossians 2:10 tells us that we are complete in Him alone.
2) That in marriage, there won't be struggles with purity anymore
This is another lie that many believe, especially single men. Married Christians aren't exempted from the fight for purity. In fact, they are right there in the frontlines.
Married people fight for their purity. Not only do they fight in order to remain pure before the Lord, they also fight in order to protect their marriages. In a world where adultery and one-night stands are romanticized, wedding vows are forgotten, and sexual lust is rampant - not to mention encouraged - God wants all Christian marriages to be the shining light that models purity in sexual matters and faithfulness in the marriage relationship.
While having a spouse greatly helps in the fight for purity, marriage is not the end of the fight. Marriage is actually taking the fight to the next level. The book of Proverbs and the Song of Solomon tells us this.
3) That marriage will be bliss
God designed marriage to be blissful, but because of sin we've got to fight to keep it that way. Since the fall, the relationship between a husband and his wife has experienced all sorts of marital problems. We can't afford to be blinded by the idea of a "happily ever after" kind of thinking.
It's wrong to think that in marriage, the couple won't be facing any problems anymore. There will be times of disagreement, of conflict, and of misunderstanding. These are normal and can even be helpful if handled correctly.
Singles will do well to avoid thinking that the marriage relationship will be like a walk in the park. Marriage takes tons of effort, fervent prayer, and lots of selfless love to make it work. God is there to help, but the husband and the wife must work at it as well. We read this in Ephesians 5:21-33.
