Florida Catholic | Be ‘Green’: Stay Married

Be ‘green’: Stay married

Published: 06.20.08

My dear friends,

As if the ill-effects of divorce were not obvious enough, a study conducted by a group from Michigan State University recently concluded that divorce is bad for the environment.

Published online in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” the study found that divorce “has led to a surge in the number of households with fewer people so that we collectively devour more space and gobble up more energy and water.”

Divorce, after all, hurts not just the environment, but also all the human beings involved, especially the children.”

That certainly sounds logical, given that the divorce rate for first marriages now stands at 40 percent, and rises to 60 percent for second marriages. Even that 40 percent statistic is a bit misleading: The divorce rate has dropped from 50 percent in the past few decades only because so many people are simply moving in together. Fewer people are actually getting married.

Of course, the ecological argument for staying married is not exactly persuasive, perhaps not even to people who are passionate about the environment. Divorce, after all, hurts not just the environment, but also all the human beings involved, especially the children.

But divorce – like global warming – is the symptom, not the cause of the problem. The problem is that people today do not take marriage seriously. They take lightly the promises they make to each other on their wedding day, and they do not consider the harm caused when those promises – that bond of trust – is broken.

Our younger generations also lack patience. They are used to instant gratification – high-speed Internet, instant messaging, movies and television “on demand,” life at the click of a button.

They also are convinced that all things must be as perfect and beautiful as they appear in magazines, so anything defective must be cast out or traded in for something better.

This idea that perfection is attainable in this life also emanates from an overblown sense of self-sufficiency. Who needs God when we have the technology to create life in a test tube – or destroy it at will?

As Catholics, we need to uphold the sanctity of marriage as staunchly as environmentalists defend the planet – by word and by deed. Just as they have succeeded in raising awareness about the ill-effects of carbon dioxide emissions and overconsumption of resources, we have to make young people aware of the harm that befalls all of society when marriages fall apart.

Of course, tossing out the garbage is easier than recycling. Purchasing products that are biodegradable or eco-friendly costs a little more money. But many people are making these sacrifices for the sake of the environment, to ensure the survival of their children and their children’s children.

We need to look at marriage the same way. Staying married requires sacrifice and patience on the part of both spouses, but marriage is just as sacred a gift from our Creator as the planet itself.

Just as we must be good stewards of creation, we must be good stewards of the promises we make to those we love.

Just as we must be good caretakers of our planet, we must be good caretakers of our spouses and children.

We must nurture, protect and defend the sacred institution of marriage as much as we nurture, protect and defend sacred creation itself.

Be ‘green’: Stay married

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