Christian couples are often exhorted to put God at the center of their marriage. They are taught to abide by the teachings of Ephesians 5.25-27, which say, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”
Marriage has been at the center of the news recently because one of the most disappointing break-ups of American celebrity.
Just recently, power-couple Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady announced that they were going to finalize a divorce, that has, apparently, been years in the making. The couple who appeared to have a perfect marriage from the outside-looking-in have decided to call it quits.
Although the exact reasons are unclear, the public has widely speculated that the breakup is the result of Brady’s apparent inability to retire gracefully. As a CNN article on the subject states:
“The general consensus among the speculators seems to be that trouble arose when Brady announced he was retiring, but then didn’t actually retire. Bündchen’s public comments indicate a worry about Brady’s health playing a dangerous sport and a desire – after years of sacrificing so that he could thrive professionally – for him to spend more time with their family.”[1]
As already noted, this break-up seems unexpected by the standards of the secular world.
Unfortunately, from a Christian perspective, it is not all that surprising.
Given Brady’s previous statements about his indifference to God, it seems unlikely God was at the center of their marriage. [3]
As Brady said in one interview, “‘We’re not Jewish,’ Brady told Leibovich. ‘But I think we’re into everything…I don’t know what I believe. I think there’s a belief system, I’m just not sure what it is.’”
If it is in fact true that Brady’s marriage fell apart over his refusal to retire from his dangerous time-consuming career, it is possible that his side of the marriage was doomed by his pride. [4]
Unfortunately, Brady would have done well to heed the teachings of Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”Instead of walking away from his football career, he decided to put fleeting greatness over his obligations to his family, and it appears he is paying the price for it.
A marriage centered on God is a source of great joy, as Proverbs 18:22 teaches, “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.”
This advice can be taken in the wrong direction, i.e., as any marriage advice blog will tell you, believing that “as long as you marry a Christian, the marriage will be fine”is a recipe for disaster, however, by and large, it is the best way to live one’s life. [2]
Brady and Bündchen have money, power, and beauty. But they don’t have a loving marriage because they have rejected God. The rest of us should take heed and cleave to God with the same ferocity as our spouse.
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