Marriage: No Big Deal?

Last night I was talking to one of my friends (and right now I'm using that term very loosely in association with this person) and I was not in a pleasant mood at the time so our conversation was sort of heading down the crapper anyhow, but as we were talking she made a comment that really set me off. We were talking about her recent break-up with her boyfriend and she said this (paraphrased, of course, because my memory isn't perfect), "You know, it's not that bad, us breaking up. We've only been seeing each other for like a year and a half. Look at all of the people who have been married for 20 or 30 years and then they get divorced. That's no big deal and it happens all the time so why should us breaking up be much of a big deal?" After hearing those comments, my mind just shifted into social commentary mode. There are many things in this world that get to me and annoy the hell out of me, but the way that divorces and break-ups have become so common-place within our society has really been a thorn stuck in my side.

I was raised Christian, Missouri Synod Lutheran to be exact, and I still consider myself a Christian person so the whole divorce issue troubles me and goes against how I was raised. Has the world completely forgotten about the sixth commandment, "Thou shall not commit adultery."? It seems that our society nowadays picks and chooses which morals they want to follow. This commandment, along with most of the others, has lost its meaning upon our society. Around 50% of all marriages end in divorce today. What ever happened to "until death do you part"? Divorce has become trendy and there is no longer a negative stigma attached to it. Of course it has its place, being used to break up dysfunctional or abusive families and such, but that should be the only reason it is used. Because of the extremely high rate of divorce we have more unbalanced and broken families now then ever before. I honestly believe that many of the problems with our children today stem from this lack of a stable family life. I know that without the stability of my family life I would not be the straight-laced kid I am. I could have easily fallen into the wrong lifestyle, but they were there to guide me and set a good example. It is because of their relationship that I have the utmost respect for the women I meet and that I strive for a loving relationship unlike the majority of the youth of our nation who treat the opposite sexes like objects and only use relationships for their own personal satisfaction and gain. It sickens me to no end.

I don't know what else to say about this. I have such a hard time explaining what I believe in words. That one phrase stuck out in my mind for the entire day. Now how do we change this world? Sometimes I wonder where our culture is headed. It'll definitely be an interesting next few decades.