If you ask me, it's an unsettling sign of the times that the divorce rate amongst so-called Christian couples is higher than fifty percent and growing each year. Like, what is a statistic like this one telling us about our decaying moral values? Just think about it... I mean like less than half of all Christian couples stay true to the sacred vows they took before their families and God and it really bothers me. Not only is it an affront to God, but what sort of message are we sending to the non-Christian communities? Is it really any wonder why Christians are treated the way we are. I guess you could even say that we deserve it based on the hypocrisy that's become so rife within the ranks.
It's not just the religious implications but also the impact that divorce has on families as well. Indeed, as a teacher in a large public school I witness every day the results when I see the growing number of children who come from single-parent families - and I'm fortunate enough to be employed by an upper-income community where the "problems" of the inner city are supposedly minimalized. While exceptions certainly exists, anyone who's had any exposure at all to kids these days will tell you that as a general rule, having two parents is always better than one.
So what's led to this decline in family values? Well, everyone has their opinion in the matter and of course, so do I. No doubt I could probably write an entire thesis and barely scratch the surface so instead I'll just focus on what I consider to be one of the most critical features of a successful marriage - the firm establishment and understanding of roles and responsibilities. Although nothing can guarantee a marriage's longevity, I firmly maintain that without this crucial element that a marriage is almost certainly doomed to fail sooner than later. Even if it doesn't result in divorce, it might be better that the marriage DID fail based on what I've seen where couple don't separate.
Simply stating that roles and responsibilities are critical is the easy part. It would be impossible, or at least undesirable, to spell out everything that each member of a family should and should not do. Making it all the more complicated, no two families are exactly the same so it only makes sense that no two families would necessarily have the same assignments. Thus I would maintain that what is REALLY important is that each couple HAVE roles established and that they well understood. Of course, following them is pretty important as well.
Like most things in life, as important as roles and responsibilities are there's always the risk of going too far, especially when dealing with what are really trivial issues. Decisions regarding who takes out the garbage, who does dishes, etc. will almost certainly change over time. Really, so long as they don't lead to unnecessary bickering and fighting, who really cares? Indeed, as I've already stated I believe that there's a real danger of going TOO far when it comes to the establishment of responsibilities to where people feel like they're in boxed in.
OK... so when it's all said and done, by now I imagine any reading this is asking just what does all nonsense this have to do with anyone who might be considering incest? Well, if you were to ask me I'd tell you that that a successful marriage is a non-negotiable prerequisite to incest. As part of creating such a successful marriage, each partner needs to confirm that they've dealt successfully with the issue of family roles before taking any steps toward actually engaging in incest. Even if they have, the strain that incest can place on these roles can lead to quite severe and complex issues even if a solid foundation is in place so just imagine if one isn't!
When it comes to determining your roles in life, whether it be in marriage or at work or even amongst friends, it always helps to have a mentor. For me, as a daughter and a wife I've always tried to emulate my mom. After all, what better role model could a girl possibly ask for than her own mother? Thanks in no small part to my mom's firm convictions and broad understandings, my parents' marriage lasted more than 25 years before their unfortunate divorce. Even though in society's eye their marriage technically "Failed", the reason for their separation had nothing to do with their love for one another (indeed, they have remained best friends) but rather to the sexual addictions that my father was unable to contain. It's really no different than how an addiction to drugs or alcohol will typically lead to a divorce. Over the years weakness grew until eventually my mother was forced into a situation where she had to make a decision - to either totally compromise her most sacred ethical and moral beliefs or leave her husband of over a quarter century. I'm incredibly proud of my mom for having such strong moral convictions such that she was able to make such a terrible choice and in the end be absolutely certain that she made the correct decision. Hopefully I'll never have to face such a situation myself but if I should, at least I have her example to follow.
To summarize what I learned from my mother, and what I hope someday to pass on to my own daughter, is that in a Christian marriage the man is the head of the household. It is then the duty and responsibility of the woman to submit to the biblical authority of her man. (Please, let's not go off on a tangent regarding gay and lesbian couples, the same principles still apply.) Neither my mother or I had a brother so in our cases this applied to our fathers only but I know that someday if I have a son that he will assume his rightful place in our family authority structure when he enters puberty and becomes a man.
In the same manner my daughter will also learn to submit to our men as it's simply the proper thing for a daughter to do. Thus my daughter will be taught to do the same things which I did with my father, and that my mother did with her father before me - to submit herself wholly and completely to her father without question or hesitation.
Now before everyone jumps all over me, some clarification is needed because the subject of Christian submission is far too complex to be properly explained in just a few sentences. Thus I'll only cover the highlights to the extent necessary to allow people to gain a basic understand of my actions on this day.
First and foremost, as a daughter my ultimate responsibility is to my father (after God of course). The biblical top ten list (AKA The Ten Commandments) instructs us to honor our fathers and mothers. Therefore every father has a right granted by God to expect his daughter to honor him. What better way to do this than by submitting herself to him in whatever manner is necessary to satisfy his most basic needs and desires - assuming of course that he doesn't abuse his position of authority. What's "Necessary" is highly subjective as every man has different needs and attitudes. For some fathers it can be as simple as her being a good student, an athlete, to excel in the arts, etc.