Secular Studies Bolster Marriage Commitment

Proverbs 18:22
“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.”

We have, in past Creation Moments programs, mentioned studies that have shown that married couples enjoy a happier, healthier life than cohabiting couples. What we haven’t mentioned is that hundreds of studies have been done on this subject by university and government groups. And each study supports the same conclusions: cohabitation without the commitment of marriage is a formula for trouble in life.

A UCLA researcher evaluated over 130 studies on the happiness and health of married couples versus cohabitors. He concluded that married couples scored much higher in personal happiness than cohabitating couples. They also had much lower rates of suicide, alcoholism, psychiatric care and general health problems. But there is more: A Washington University study found that cohabiting couples have less healthy relationships than married couples. Then, a study released in 1999 by the National Marriage Project reviewed ten years of studies and concluded that cohabiting couples who eventually marry greatly increase their chance for divorce. A 1997 study by the National Survey of Families and Households found that couples who lived together before marriage were 46 percent more likely to get divorced than those who do not.

The Bible recognizes that not everyone is cut out for marriage. However, no one is cut out for cohabitation. We need the commitment of marriage. Modern science is discovering that the Bible was right all along in saying that a man and a woman need the commitment of marriage if their union is to be blessed.

Prayer:
I thank You, dear Father, for the gift and blessings of marriage. Amen.

Notes:
Christian News, 3/6/00, p. 10, “Science, Scholarship and Scripture.” Photo: Courtesy of Hohum. (CC BY 2.0)