Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate."    

In the song, "Lips of An Angel," the group Hinder sings of a person being faithful to a potential partner, and both of the couple in the relationship are not faithful. "Honey, why you calling me so late," the man in the relationship begins their song, "It's kinda hard to talk right now. My girl's in the next room. Sometimes I wish she was you. I guess we never really moved on. Girl, you make it hard to be faithful with the lips of an angel." And later, the man says: "Does he know you're talking to me, will it start a fight?" Both the man and the woman do not understand the meaning of being faithful to one another.

How should we look at romantic love in our world? Over eighty percent of the songs that our society produces concern the concept of love in some way. That pattern is an interesting one to study because the fact of romantic love must begin at some time, and develop over a period of time. Being faithful is part of the development.

The song "Lips of An Angel" presents a couple who are not faithful to one another. If the couple is only in the dating process, at the beginning of discovering whether the attraction will last or not, faithfulness may not be an issue. The very nature of a culture who chooses a potential partner is to choose, and in order to choose, one must date around to discover who one likes or does not like. If, however, the couple is married, or very close to marriage, as engaged people are, then faithfulness is extremely important.

The Scriptures do not record any of Jesus’ words about developing the aspect of romantic love because his time knew no "dating pattern" as we do. He only talked about what should happen after the couple have agreed to marriage. And in his opinion, at that time, being faithful to one another is paramount: the two shall become one flesh, and no human being can separate them. That is to say, the couple must remain faithful to each other.

The virtue that governs all dating behavior is probably not faithfulness; it most probably is the fact that we should have the highest respect for each other as we choose who will be our marriage partner. But once we have chosen marriage as a way of life, then, if we are to call ourselves Christians, the virtue of being faithful to one another must govern our behavior.                  

THOUGHT
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, most of us choose to be married during our adult lives. As we choose, may we learn your Son's thought about being faithful to one another. And before we are married, may we learn to have the highest respect for each other. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America