“Many married men have the tendency to use marriage as a convenience, as a necessity, as an excuse, or as a social obligation.

In reality, if one were to be able to see the real unity in certain marriages, many marriages would be considered a farce.

In timber country men wear hard hats because of the danger in their work. The danger referred to is called a ‘widow maker’, a falling branch. In every walk of life men do not actually wear hard hats, but their behavior patterns, their habits, their selfish actions, can be as deadly to a marriage as the falling branch in the forest. Widows are often thought about as only through the physical death of their husband. This is not so. It is important to see this subject for the reality it is, and how prevalent it is in all cultures.

Marriage is a state of unity, of sharing, of consideration, of doing things together, whether this be attending social obligations, taking care of the children, nursing the sick in the home, or helping with household chores.

It is always sad to see two people who have accepted the marriage vows, romantically accepting and openly professing their love for each other, their desire to be together ‘until death do they part’, but then suddenly one feels that certain responsibilities are totally the other one’s to take care of, and that there is a separation in activities, obligations, responsibilities, to the point where the woman would many times be better off having the entitled title ‘widow’.

As we go into the Ten Commandments, God did not say, ‘Now, certain parts of These Commandments are meant for men and the other part for women.’ Also, God did not say that one was a superior gender over the other. God’s Ten Commandments gave the Rules for all men, women and children to live by and use as the Guidelines against offending Him, and each other.

So many times the vow of marriage is not seen for its full worth, full meaning, full responsibility, total obligation to the other person.

In the very basics of married life, God’s Ten Commandments lay down the Rules against stealing, adultery, killing in the full sense of the word, the demeaning of the other person’s name, position, title, importance to the relationship. Also, one person is not to covet, desire to the point of sinfulness, anyone outside that union, nor to covet or desire monetary measures so much, that others have, or to even top what others have, that the relationship between husband and wife is strained and becomes channeled in different directions.

Selfishness is a tremendous threat to marriage, to family life, to business associations and to social involvements. Selfishness is oftentimes the basic reason for the foundations of marriages to crumble. Suddenly there is nothing left to say. The vow of unity originally taken, now takes on a false imitation of what was truly said, in the manner it was meant to be.”