Institution of Marriage

Now, what I am about to write maybe somewhat radical, or it may not, but I definitely believe it to be true. What I want to write about is the institution of marriage. For one, many people hold the institution of marriage up as a sacred sacrament or covenant instituted by God Himself, while others say it is utterly meaningless, while I hold somewhat of an opinion in between. Firstly, I don't think that marriage in and of itself is sacred. Let me explain. Marriage, the act of people coming together to recognize an existing relationship, is only a ritual and a contract. The ceremony is quite nice and created invaluable memories, but that is where it ends. Now, the contractual part of the marriage is simply an agreement between two people, or more is some places, to hold property, children, and other elements of a persons' livelihood in common. In the end, it is a legal agreement. The saying that marriage is only a piece of paper holds some truth, however; there is a place where that becomes false. To put in brief, the element of marriage, an existing relationship, is sacred. It is the relationship which leads to a marriage and exists afterwards which is sacred and needs to be kindled and kept alive burning brightly. It is in a relationship, a bond between two individuals, that we put faith, hope, love, trust, and our souls into. This is somewhat reminiscent of religious language, but I deem it proper to use in the context of a relationship, and thus there is definitely a degree of sanctity involved here. I have seen many "marriages" in my life which I would not have deemed them as such. In these there was always a troubled relationship between people. The "marriage" problems began before the act of being married was carried out. In our society there is a myth that once two people get married that they will happily ever after, but happily ever after begins before, way before the walk down the aisle. If people do not build a healthy relationship before marriage, then things will end up in disaster. I do not wish to attack marriage, but rather to make note of what really counts, that is the relationship between people that builds a marriage. In an ending word, we should stop talking about the sanctity of marriage and rather discuss the sanctity of relationships.
-Kole Elyon Olam