When I sat down to write this piece I was trying to think of what an appropriate title would be in order to effectively communicate the overall message that I want you, the reader, to get; one look at a New York Times piece from Sunday October 15 and think no more. The article detailed how a new study has concluded that married couples are now in the minority, the official stat reads that “49.7 percent, or 55.2 million, of the nation’s 111.1 million households in 2005 were made up of married couples” (NYT, 2005). This stat is not extremely staggering on its surface but once one reads into what this stat really indicates it seems to be a metaphorical compass pointing in the direction our society is currently traveling.

In the NYT article the writer sites the opinions of many different demographers and family professionals with the collective consensus being that people want seek to weigh the costs of marriage prior to taking the risk (attached to this newsletter is a list of quotes from the article). My point in discussing this article is not to talk solely about this recent study but to use it as an overarching example of the direction many other issues are currently taking. We live in a society of instant gratification, if you want it, you got it seems to be the tagline associated with the current era; and we have gotten so used to this concept that it takes even more effort to make decisions having no direct benefit to ourselves. This is an underlying theme in the NYT article as it shows the inclination to test drive the relationship before buying into it; this idea that we have to know our level of happiness before exposing ourselves fully to another.

This trend is also evident in today’s political realm as a congressman was booted for inappropriate emails and instant messages in which the Florida representative was soliciting sex from a then 17-year old congressional page. Now when this occurs both political parties go into crisis lockdown mode and begin to rehearse their rhetoric for the upcoming finger-pointing session. This only directs attention to the congressional officials themselves and ignores the problem at hand. To ask an open-ended question, why can’t we join together to fight bipartisan issues instead of finding reasons why the other party is bankrupt? Matthew 7:4-5 says “How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye (NLT). If only the wall of separation between church and state were absent this verse could be read in the halls of congress just to get the finger-pointing out of the way when a scandal erupts. This is the verse that comes to mind when I hear people like Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid speak in a holier thank thou tone while discussing issues involving ethics.

This topic covered today is not a political issue as it affects everyone regardless of political affiliation. We must take responsibility first for ourselves, to make right and honest decisions as well as face up to mistakes we have made in the past, and then look out for others seeking to help them avoid similar mistakes we have made in the past. Please take a moment to watch the video in the VIDEO(S) section of the DOT as it perfectly illustrates the concepts presented in this piece. To quote again from the owners manual for life, “So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do,” (Ephesians 5:15-17, NLT). I realize there is a lot more that could be said on this topic, but I will let you fill in the blanks for your own life as I do the same for mine.