THE WISDOM OF MARRIAGE PROVERBS 18:22

The Wisdom of Marriage God designed marriage Gen. 1:26-27; 2:24 oneness of spirit  oneness of flesh Oneness of flesh  offspring Malachi 2:10-16 Remain married  godly offspring Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable in every respect; and, in particular, sex within marriage is pure. But God will indeed punish fornicators and adulterers. Comp Jewish Bible

Physical Benefits of Marriage U.S. Census data 1989 50% married 20% never married 12% divorced 10% widowed 5% cohabiting 3% separated

Physical Benefits of Marriage U.S. Census data 1997 Death rates after adjusting for age, health, and other factors Married Widowed 40% more likely to die

Physical Benefits of Marriage U.S. Census data 1997 Death rates after adjusting for age, health, and other factors Married Widowed 40% more likely to die Divorced Separated

Physical Benefits of Marriage U.S. Census data 1997 Death rates after adjusting for age, health, and other factors Married Widowed 40% more likely to die Divorced 27% more likely to die Separated 27% more likely to die

Physical Benefits of Marriage U.S. Census data 1997 Death rates after adjusting for age, health, and other factors Married Widowed 40% more likely to die Divorced 27% more likely to die Separated 27% more likely to die Cohabiting Never Married

Physical Benefits of Marriage U.S. Census data 1997 Death rates after adjusting for age, health, and other factors Married Widowed 40% more likely to die Divorced 27% more likely to die Separated 27% more likely to die Cohabiting 58% more likely to die Never Married 58% more likely to die

Physical Benefits of Marriage U.S. Census data 1997 Death rates after adjusting for age, health, and other factors Married Widowed 40% more likely to die Divorced 27% more likely to die Separated 27% more likely to die Cohabiting 58% more likely to die Never Married 58% more likely to die Never married males 19-44

Physical Benefits of Marriage U.S. Census data 1997 Death rates after adjusting for age, health, and other factors Married Widowed 40% more likely to die Divorced 27% more likely to die Separated 27% more likely to die Cohabiting 58% more likely to die Never Married 58% more likely to die Never married males 19-44 200% more likely

Emotional Benefits of Marriage Live Science article, dated Feb. 14, 2014: “Marriage is linked with numerous health benefits that simply cohabiting doesn't seem to provide. Now, research suggests the reason why — the brain links "just" living together with a lack of commitment and can't relax.” In 2006, Dr. James Coan used the threat of a mildly painful electric shock to test brain response of 16 married women “During this process, the volunteers either held their partner's hands, a stranger's hands, or faced the shocks alone.

Emotional Benefits of Marriage “All of the couples went through the same experimental procedure: one person would lie in the fMRI scanner, where they could see a computer screen that cued them into a potential threat — a shock on the ankle. Some cues signaled a 20 percent chance that a shock was coming, and others signaled a 0 percent chance of shock. They had a decreased brain response to the threat of shock when holding their husband's hand versus holding a stranger's hand or no hand at all.

Emotional Benefits of Marriage “The effect occurred in the hypothalamus, an almond-sized structure buried deep in the brain that helps regulate some of the body's responses to stress, including increased blood pressure.” New Study The new study used many more people and also tested cohabiting partners as well as married partners. "There's a pretty strong and predictable regulation effect in the married couples and no regulation at all in the cohabiting couples," Coan said. "None, zero."

Emotional Benefits of Marriage Commitment is the key Cohabitation is a mindset to keep emotional distance Unwillingness to commit to relationship more difficult to break The brain won’t outsource stress response to the partner; doesn’t subconsciously trust the partner It does if one is fully committed Marriage is a proxy for trust and reliability What does that mean for cohabitation?

Emotional Benefits of Marriage Coan said that marriage is “a socially understood sanctioned world that communicates to your partner commitment, really powerful, strong commitment, the kind of commitment that is hard to get out of. That's what your brain is looking for.” “We really pay close attention to when it's safe to let down our guard and to outsource our stress response to our social networks.” “The findings were unexpected, Coan added: ‘I'm sort of freaking myself out with this research.’”

Economic Benefits of Marriage 2002 study Continuously married have higher levels of wealth than others Never married have 75% less wealth Divorced have 73% less wealth More stable home Save and invest more in the future Specialize and complement each other Better protection for illness, job loss, etc. Eccl. 4:9-10

Spiritual Benefits of Marriage Heb. 13:4 1 Cor. 7:1-11 Exception in v.25-35 in the present distress Ephesians 5:21-33 Jesus loves us v.25 sacrificed for us Trust His love for us 1 John 4:16-19 Commit to Him (repent Lk 13:3; confess) Submit to Him Mark 16:16