Divorce is out, Monogamy's in

Comp 1
23 September 2013

Gen X Marriages: Divorce is out, Monogamy's in

As Baby Boomers took their time to grow up in a world that beckoned them, built malls for them and seduced them into adulthood kicking and screaming, Generation X was pushed toward adulthood at an age earlier than any other recent generation. Since baby boomers went to war, arrived home, and got married fast they got divorced even faster, making an entire generation be raised in broken homes. Because of the difficult family circumstances that Generation X had to go through, it instilled in them a desire to do better for themselves and their families. Their motivation to do better for themselves has made the vast majority of them stay together even through the tough effects society brings to today’s marriages. The divorce rate among couples in Generation X is significantly lower than the current generation, despite growing up in broken homes.
Though many people believe that the divorce rate among baby boomers is increasing because of economic hardships, I beg to differ. I believe these people have lost hope in their marriages, because of selfish and fleshly reasons. They lose the butterflies, the kids grow up and then boom, they have nothing to keep them in their marriage. With no feelings of security or love, so they go seek love elsewhere. When in all reality they need to learn that true love only comes from your father in heaven. You can never truly understand how to love someone until you accept God’s love for you.
My parents are “baby boomers” and they are part of the vast majority that have gotten a divorce. Actually both of them have gotten divorced 3 times, leaving around 18 kids in broken homes. It’s hard for me to even fathom getting married 3 times and failing every time. If my siblings and I have learned one thing from my parents, it’s what not to do in a marriage. All of my siblings that are a part of Generation X have very successful marriages. They learned at a young age to take commitment and relationships very seriously. They have seen the consequences of not taking the time to make the right decision on who you want your life partner to be and we have all had to pay the price for my mom and dad’s mistakes. That doesn’t mean that my siblings marriages have been perfect by any means, considering we didn’t have a great example of what a good and true marriage was. But it seems to me that Generation X has done an exceedingly better job at keeping their marriages together than the Baby boomers, out of pure motivation to be nothing like them.
By God’s grace we all attended church very often in our lives. Church really taught us what true love was all about. We learned that God had to be the center of all relationships for them to work. That doesn’t mean that their marriages have been perfect by any means, considering we didn’t have a great example of what a good and true marriage was. Generation X has done an exceedingly better job at keeping their marriages together than the Baby boomers, out of pure motivation to be nothing like them.
I feel that in Today’s society everything is geared toward being selfish. We get whatever we want, whenever we want it. This doesn’t help when it comes to marriage. Marriage is supposed to be about fully giving oneself to the other person. How can this happen when society is constantly throwing temptations at us? People need to learn to lean on God and not their own understanding.
Many people marry for lust or because of an unexpected pregnancy. Love seems to take second place to these. Money is also a problem for many people and if there is not enough of it, they get divorced. I suppose the thought of living in a trailer park is a bit off-putting should they want to stay together. Substance abuse is also another problem including alcoholism. Violence and verbal abuse of a spouse is a major problem with couples. Also, compatibility issues, families who don't get along, and some partners decide they either don't want or do want children where it was the opposite to their partners wishes, in the first place. There are also gender preferences that cause divorces where one spouse no longer has attraction for the opposite gender and feels more comfortable and attracted to same gender partners.
Some partners are just money grabbers and divorcing a wealthy partner is the quickest way of attaining personal wealth, for themselves. Unemployment is also a factor especially if one,or both, were employed in good jobs and no longer are able to get a job that pays more than basic rates. Living within your means is hard for most people and credit card debt, bankruptcy, or just general money woes is probably the biggest reason for divorce. All in all, despite getting married for love, lust or just for the heck of it, divorce occurs because of money.
I have yet to meet the divorced mother or father who feels like a good parent, who professes to being happier with how their children are now being raised. Many of them have ended up inflicting pain on their children, which they did everything to avoid. The divorce rate in America is around 50%, and the average American marriage lasts about eight years. The divorce rate among Christians is even higher. Clearly we are all doing something very wrong as a nation and as Christians. We need to learn to refocus our attention to God and away from the sinful and tempting society that we live in. I think that we should live like Generation X, use the bad examples of marriage that we have been given and use them as motivation. Motivation to make better lives for ourselves and give future generations a good example of what marriage should look like.