Your views on MARRIAGE

[Catholic_Lady]

The part that really matters to me is my promise to God and to my spouse. The government contract is just practical and convenient for tax breaks, hospital visits, etc. Also, being in the military, my husband actually get's paid more if he has a spouse... and as a "dependent" I get special privileges that I would not get if I was just a girlfriend.

Those small perks shouldn’t make someone want to get married. It is respectable that you want to keep your promise to your spouse, but I don’t understand the point of marriage. To me, it just seems like something that everyone goes along with, because of peer pressure or what is socially acceptable in a given culture. Then, you get judged by most people if you’re 40 years old, and have never been married. Trying to explain this type of logic to people, just makes me seem more crazy, even though it is perfectly rational, to me anyways.

Even if you believe in a god, why include god in your marriage? I see that you want to have a relationship with this deity, but why the need to promise god that you will be together forever? In our reality, god isn’t here living our daily problems. God doesn’t pay your bills, settle your arguments, or cook dinner for your kids. These, and many others, are problems that are dealt with here in reality, by real people, not god. All of the good and bad things that happen in a marriage, or any relationship for that matter, are dealt with by the people in that relationship. I know you believe in god, and respect him, and probably think he blesses you moreso for including him in your marriage (speculating, forgive me if I’m wrong), but what about the catholic marriages that end in divorce? Is that god’s will? Did god bless them for including him in their lives? I think that you know deep down, god won’t solve every one of your problems. He’s not going to pay your bills, he’s not going to feed your children. Just look at the homeless people on the streets and the starving children all over the world that cry out to him everyday.

Basically, after all of those examples, why include god in your relationship with your significant other(s)? (taking into account, the examples I've given you. Unless you don't agree with me, then you can let me know why.)

Well just to clarify, I didn't get married for those "perks".

I got married because I wanted to become one as a family with the man I loved and I wanted God to unite us in that sacrament. I don't believe marriage is simply a government contract, I believe marriage is the very real spiritual unity between a man and a woman. A spiritual unity that is made by God and that can never be undone.

What I meant was that that part of it, to me, was the real marriage... and that is what mattered. My husband and I got our marriage license 2 weeks before our actual wedding, but we didn't consider ourselves married until we actually made those promises to each other before God. The government contract was just for the sake of being recognized that way by the law for practicality and convenience... and to tell you the truth, I'm pretty sure the Church doesn't marry people unless they are legally married as well anyway.