Hebrews 13:4 — Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

I’m going to share a guilty secret. Sometimes Myra and I watch junk TV. Usually it’s something to do with detectives, or similar puzzle-solving with a human interest twist. So tonight we were watching one of our favorites, and one of the detectives was getting married. It set my mind running on a topic that has long been a concern of mine — modern marriage, both real and “as seen on TV”.
Marriage in America is in trouble. I know there are statistics that says the divorce rate has fallen a little in the last year of so, but I know enough social and economic history to know that things like divorce rates and the age of marriage vary according to economic conditions. There are other statistics that are far more compelling, and far more disturbing. Let me give you just one: Sixty-four percent of children ages 0–17 lived with two married parents in 2012, down from 77 percent in 1980. (If you want to know more about that topic, visit the childstats.gov web site.)
Now I believe that media portrayal of life has an influence on attitudes and behavior — and sadly marriage isn’t getting good coverage. Relevant Magazine describes the situation very well:

But during this Oscar season and the couple of years prior, it seems that “alternative families” are getting more positive coverage than ever, while heterosexual marriages and family life are shown almost exclusively in states of misery or mockery. Hollywood may be making just a small percentage of films and shows that have these attitudes, but perhaps the bigger issue here lies in the way the media culture has shone a highly biased spotlight upon them, furthering their agendas into discussions on the news and talk shows and ubiquitous advertising.
You can read more about this topic at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/features/24055-hollywoods-confusing-portrayal-of-marriage#vpiPiGDTJO3rOL1J.99

So what are we to do about this? As Christians we can go on the offensive and the defensive.
The offensive side of our response ought first to be to present a positive image of godly marriage — to make sure that when people look at our marriages they see something so wonderful that they say “that’s what I want”. We should also be supportive of media portrayals of biblical marriage — in particular, go to Christian movies to encourage the filmmakers to make more.
The defensive side of our response should first be to refuse to countenance divorce or those “alternative family” lifestyles. We should also, at a personal level, take Psalm 101:3 to heart: “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” We need to refuse to watch TV shows and movies that consciously set out to undermine marriage. Let us hold marriage “honorable to all”!