That title was a frequent and popular article in the monthly Ladies Home Journal. I'm not even a casual reader of that magazine but the title question is a good one for all of our marriages: "Can this marriage be saved?"
This week, through Valentine's Day, is National Marriage Week. The over-riding theme of the week is strengthening both existing marriages and reversing the decline in marriage among adults. The reversal is necessary as research has shown that while 78% of adults were married in 1970, only 57% were married in 2008. As a result, 40% of all children in America are now born out of wedlock.
The bottom-line is that marriage works on a number of fronts. According to The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier And Better Off Financially by Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher, (Doubleday, 2000) the statistics are heavy in favor of marriage.
Research has shown that marriage leads to a longer and healthier life. Both married men and women are less likely than singles to suffer from long-term chronic illness or disabilities. On average, married men live significantly longer than single men (although the old line is that it really isn't 'longer' it just 'seems longer' :-)
The biggest statistical difference is actually with regard to personal or family wealth. Married couples in their 50's and 60's have an average net worth of just over $132,000 while those single or divorced had less than $35,000. Considering two people vs. one that improvement from being married is 88%.
At retirement, the difference is even greater with married couples entering into retirement years with a net worth of $410,000 vs. $167,000 for never married and $154,000 for those that have been divorced.
Ultimately however, it's really the children that have the most to lose if we fail to save marriages. Children growing up in a single parent home are more likely to live in poverty as studies have shown that 57% percent of the children in single parent families live below the poverty line vs. only 6.3% of children in two-parent families, most of which are married. These children also have trouble with school, tend to get in trouble more often, have higher risk of health problems and are at greater risk of suffering emotional, physical or sexual abuse.
Marriage works and your marriage can work as well. If you are looking for help in your marriage, see you local pastor and check out the many resources available for a marriage based on biblical principles that will last forever.
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Sources: "Single Parent Families" http://family.jrank.org/pages/1574/Single-Parent-Families-Demographic-Trends.html;Single-Parent Families - The Well-being Of Children Raised In Single-parent Homes
Read more: Single-Parent Families - The Well-being Of Children Raised In Single-parent Homeshttp://social.jrank.org/pages/580/Single-Parent-Families-Well-Being-Children-Raised-in-Single-Parent-Homes.html#ixzz0f46gAIKv
