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Introduction

Friendship is more important than love in a marriage. Do you agree? A marriage is a close and intimate relationship between a man and woman that have signed a legal contract to live together as husband and wife. The Bible implies that marriage is a good thing, "God said <It is not good for man to live alone, I will make a helper suitable for him>"- Genesis 2:18. Also, that marriage is a very important process, "Jesus said, <A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, the two will become one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined let no man separate>"- Mark 10:9-12. For a marriage to work, the relationship has to be sustainable. For this to happen, it needs friendship and love. Friendship is a bond between two people regarded with liking, affection and loyalty. Love is an intense emotion of affection, warmth and fondness towards a person. Friendship is great as "Friends always show their love"- Proverbs 17:17. Love is a wonderful thing to share with a partner, "John said, <Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God>"- 1 John 4:7. They are both significant factors in the success of a marriage but which is more important? Friendship can be more important than love in a marriage. When you get married to someone, it is fundamental to have got to know them and trust them first as if you don't, it will feel like marrying a stranger or an acquaintance. ...read more.

Middle

Also Matthew 5:31 says, "Jesus said a man may divorce his wife for unfaithfulness"; this contradicts the whole point of marriage, which is that it should last forever and the two people should live together in harmony and be faithful always. It is also helpful to have things and qualities in common so the relationship runs smoothly and you feel closer to them. If you are friends, you are more likely to get along with one another; this way the chances of arguing are less and even if you do argue, it will be easier to compromise and settle the argument fairly. The relationship will be able to survive ups and downs. Proverbs 27:6 says, "Friends mean well even when they hurt you." If they meant well, you are more likely to forgive them for doing something wrong than if they didn't. Forgiveness and moving on from mistakes is crucial in the sustainability of a relationship; "Jesus said, <If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you>"- Matthew 6:14-15. You could also argue that love is more important that friendship in a marriage. If you are friends with the person but you don't love them, how can you marry them and have children? This would be an extremely awkward issue. 1 Corinthians 13 says that "Paul talked about the qualities of love, that love was the greatest gift and would never fail." ...read more.

Conclusion

If there is no love in the relationship the couple would become too independent and do things separately as opposed to together as they would be able to live without each other. This may result in them growing apart and this would result in the relationship and marriage inevitably coming to an end. Christians believe this would be a bad thing as it would disagree with the Bible as in Romans 7:2, "Paul said, <A woman is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives.>" In conclusion, love and friendship are vital to making a marriage work. Without love the relationship can't be sustained and the same applies to without friendship. This is true as in the real world there are many examples of marriages that haven't worked out well because of a lack of either love or friendship; "<I hate divorce,> says the Lord"- Malachi 2:16. In my opinion, to truly make a marriage work and last forever, you need both; it is not just enough to have one without the other. They are just as important as each other, "Jesus said, <Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends>"- John 15:12-13. You could try to make a relationship missing one of them to work but it would backfire as it is just not possible to keep it up. Njeri Chege ...read more.

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Family, Marriage and Divorce section.