Online Sermons
Lesson #20 - Monogamy Without Monotony
Series: Home-BuildersLESSON #20 – MONOGAMY WITHOUT MONOTONY
INTRODUCTION
How can two people who have said, “I Do!”, keep doing that which they have pledged … for a lifetime?
How can a husband and a wife (committed to a monogamous relationship) keep a good thing growing?
How do happy-at-the-outset newlyweds remain happy ever after? cf. Gen.2:24 and Mk.10:7-9
HOW DO YOU LIKE CHANGE?
Most human-beings gravitate toward routine.
While some avoid change like the plague, quite a few find safety within the boundaries of regular and familiar.
On the other hand, monotony can become the death knell of a once-vibrant marriage.
The definition of MONOTONY is a lack of variation in pitch, intonation, or inflection … a wearisome sameness.
“The only difference between a rut and a grave is the dimensions.” / Ellen Glasgow
“Variety's the very spice of life, that gives it all it's flavor.” / William Cowper
“The secret of happiness is to find a congenial monotony.” / V. S. Pritchett
Congeinal implies that such monotony and/or boredom is mutually agreeable.
SINS OF OMISSION
Js.4:17 / Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.
If we know that our marriage needs occasional doses of variety and spice, to ignore such nurturing is marital malpractice.
SIMPLE WAYS TO SPICE UP YOUR MARRIAGE
Ashley Mcllwain argues that the only way to get out of a rut is to forge a new path.
She offers “seven ways to break the monotony of marriage”.
7
1. Be Spontaneous 2. Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone 3. Channel Your Youthful Side
4. Be Romantic 5. Get Away 6. Reminisce 7. Dream
HOW DO YOU KEEP THINGS FRESH?
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Is it nourishing to have marital rituals? Can rituals provide both continuity and variety?
2. Is marital excitement just for newlyweds? - cf. Deut.24:5
3. Doesn’t Prov.5:18-19 infer an ongoing happiness in marriage (“be exhilarated always with her love”)?.
Does an acknowledgment of the need for a little rejuvenation in a marriage necessarily signal a marriage in decline?
From a marital point of view, how would you describe preventative maintenance?
4. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld jokes: men want the same thing from women that they want from their underwear --
“a little bit of support and a little bit of freedom”. Would it be a stretch to say that this applies to marriage?
Speaking of breathability (freedom), do marriages sometimes suffocate?
We're not endorsing any notion that “freedom” implies permission to engage in sinful deeds. cf.1Pet.2:16
