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Not that long ago, marriage was seen as a permanent thing. You walked down the aisle of your local church and promised to love and honor the person about to become your husband or wife. You swore before God that you would forsake all others "for better, for worse, for richer for poorer". And most people honestly believed that what they were promising in God's presence was for good, that it was meant to last.

Of course we make mistakes. There were some marriages that just didn't work. Staying together was bad for everyone involved and divorce did happen despite both partners' best intentions. But it seems that we now live in a throwaway society in which you can get rid of something once you tire of it. Your vows are meaningless because divorce is just so easy.

Apart from so many couples ignoring the sacred vows they make before God, marriage has become increasingly secular. Couple no longer see the relevance of a church wedding and are quite happy to tie the knot in a civil ceremony. They no longer feel the need to promise before God that they will love and cherish their wife or husband. The so-called vows are simply a best intention. Instead of promising that no man will put asunder what God has put together, couples seem to go into marriage with the attitude of 'let's give it a try'. Once they get fed up of each other, they move on to partners new.

Certainly, marriage is no longer universally seen as the sacred institution it started out as. It is more a legal contract which can be broken with the agreement of both sides. The serious promises made before God can simply be broken once you feel like a change. And society is the poorer for the shift.

Learn more about this author, Phil Hill.
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