In his postscript to the Letter to the Hebrews, the author begins with a brief word about the church, the family, and economics. The order is important. The renovation of human life begins with the church, which instructs the family, which is the engine of economic productivity. In the church the central command is to love the brethren. In the family, it is faithfulness of husband and wife to each other. Marriage is honorable. To exalt celibacy as a higher calling than marriage, or to view marriage as just a piece of paper, or to imagine that it is a mere invention of human custom dishonors it. How people come to be married is interesting, but not so important. How they act when married is crucial. The story of Abraham illustrates God's rejection of human efforts to structure marriage according to mere human convenience. He calls Sarah Abraham's WIFE over and over again: when they agree in Egypt that they will say that she is his sister, when they plot to give Hagar to Abraham to produce a son, when they again pass her off to Abimelech as Abraham's sister. God thwarts these schemes every time until Abraham and Sarah understand the meaning of husband and wife. Only then does God give them Isaac. Fruitfulness in a society, in fact, depends on its honoring God's institution of marriage. Where marriage falls into disregard, children become scarce. |
