A lady went to the airport to welcome an old friend she had not seen for long time. While she was waiting, she saw a man
arrive and run toward a woman. She was drawn to the scene, especially when the man grabbed the woman, kissed her and exclaimed how much he had missed her. Amazed by this by this display, she asked the man, ‘sir, how long have u been married?’ she expected the answer to be one or two months. Without so much as a sidelong glance at what he obviously considered a distraction, he replied, Eighteen years now! Assuming that the man had been away from his family for a while, she pursued the matter, inquiring, ‘how long have you been away?’ To her surprise, he said, ‘two days! Amazed, she remarked, I hope I marry a man like you who will love me as much! Hearing this, the man looked at her and said, don’t hope, decide!
Except for receiving Jesus as your lord and personal saviour, your choice of a marriage partner is probably the biggest decision you will ever have to make in your life. The issue of a life partner is so important that you can not afford to make a careless choice, based on emotions and sentiments. Personally, I have discovered that choosing whom to marry based on emotions or romantic feelings alone, is often misleading. Romance tells you nothing about character and is extremely unreliable as a method of determining the vitality of a relationship. Sadly, however most people today are attracted by romance and sentiments, which the mistake for feelings of true love. Marriage is no hide - and - seek game, It requires effort and diligent rather than indulging in emotions that may change with the weather. Personally, I have done a great deal of research that has revealed that people do not prepare for marriage like they do for other aspects of their lives. This explains why the divorce rate is going alarming. A close look at divorce
statistics around the world paints a startling picture. The result of both independent organization studies indicate that much has gone wrong with the family structure. Painfully, many of these abnormalities are now being taken for granted. In a report recently released by the national center for health statistics in the U.S.A, it was found that 43% of first marriages end in separation or divorce within the next 15 years. In a 1996 U.S census bureau, current
population report, Rose M Krieder and Jason M Fields describe a statistical exercise performed in 1975, using marital history data from the current population survey (cps). Projection made using the data suggested that about one-third of married persons aged between 25 and 35 in 1975 would end up divorced. It is worrisome to note that by 1996 this projection had already been exceeded, as about 40% of the men and women in this age bracket , then about 45 to 55 years old had been divorced from their first marriage partners. Current projections indicate that the proportion could be as high as 50% for persons now in their early forties. The census bureau also indicated that the divorce rate in the U.S.A had quadrupled from 4-3 million in 1970 to 18-3 million in 1996.
According to reports, Britain has the highest divorce rate in Europe, Government figures show that Britain records 2-7 divorce per 1000 of the population, compared with a European average of 1-8 per 1000 of the population. Japanese health minister statistics indicate that one in three marriages now end in divorce, while total divorce figures have more than doubled, from just over 95000 in 1970 to 206955 in 1996.
In Canada, the introduction of a flexible divorce law 30 years ago has seen the incidence of marital brake up, soaring as high as 600%, with one third of marriages ending in separation or divorce Records also shows that one-fifth of Canadian children have lost a parent to divorce.
Pastor (Dr) Peter Baldacci of long grove community church in Illinois, U.S.A , carried out an independent study during his visit to Nigeria in July 2002. He found that the divorce rate in Nigeria is about 50% Especially disheartening is the fact that one-third of these divorce occurs within the first four years of marriage, the situation is no better in other African countries, the result of other studies around the world are as alarming, and even worse in some cases. In 1996, 68 out of every 100 marriages in Belarus ended in divorce, 56% in Belgium, 41% in Germany, 26% in Israel, and out of 29 bill marriages celebrated in Scotland in 1997, 12.22 ended in divorce.
The institution of marriage, as ordained by God, is suppose to be the foundation for the evolution of better societies, the average family is a microcosm of society in general. The deterioration of our nation, socially, culturally, morally, and economically is the result of the deterioration of family ties and of slack attitudes to family responsibilities. Statistic reveal that the institution of marriage is heading in the wrong direction and at heart-stopping speed. The primary aim of this book, therefore is to teach single people how to choose their partners wisely, thereby restoring dignity to the institution of marriage.