An interfaith couple who wanted to have a live-in relationship, not a marriage covenant, approached the High Court of Uttar Pradesh for legal protection. The court rejected their plea stating such live-in relationships are in timepass, temporary, and fragile. Mostly it is infatuation without stability and sincerity. (India Today magazine, 23 October 2023) The judges bring out a few important aspects of marriage.
Timepass: It means to use time unproductively, casually, without aim or purpose. Marriage has the noble purpose of companionship, belonging, enjoyment, and procreation.
Not Temporary: The husband-and-wife relationship is not a contract or causal relationship. It is a sacred covenant instituted by God between a man and a woman, that they become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24) It is a life-long commitment and only death should separate the couple.
Fragile: When the marriage bed is not honorable and sacred, the relationship is fragile, farce, fake, and falsehood. (Hebrews 13:4) Sex within a marriage relationship is sacred, and outside it is adultery, a sin against God.
No stability: Without commitment before God, in the eyes of law, people of God, and society, a relationship is unstable. Fickle-minded individuals cannot build a sacred institution like marriage, so they opt for a live-in relationship.
No sincerity: A Live-in relationship does not have the right intention, long-term vision, worthy motivation, and selfless commitment; hence insincere. It is to take advantage of the other or even abuse the other, without commitment to love, cherish, nourish, and serve one another.
Infatuation not love: The judges rightly observed that the relationship was based on infatuation rather than selfless love. Infatuation is fantasy-based, passionate-longing, and possession-driven. Love is reality-based, understanding, and the right knowledge of others, including their weakness.
Dangerous trap: Sadly, there are thousands of young couples who have live-in relationships, including celebrities. For them, marriage is outdated, out of fashion, and meaningless bondage. The simple reason is they cannot accept biblical standards of chastity-based celebration within marriage and celibacy outside marriage. Without self-control, they become emotional beings and end up as emotional wrecks.
Do I understand, appreciate, and esteem marriage as a sacred covenant?