You'll hear such things as 'ball and chain', 'last days of freedom' and 'don't do it'.
I remember a Brother in the Lord giving me such advice a few
years ago when I was engaged to Barbara (my now wife). His 'joking' went on for quite a while, but one day another Brother heard his jibes and gave a rebuke that has remained with me.My friend and brother talked of how God had created marriage and how He had made it to be a picture or pointer of Christ and His Church. As such it was and is an institution or sacrament on a Parr with Baptism or the Lord's Table. My friend asked how many negative jokes Christian's tell about the bread and cup or of being dunked compared to the relative freedom we take in running God's creation of Marriage into the ground.
I also remember reading someone else talking about this same thing and they suggested that many men who joke negatively about marriage are in fact feeling that way about their own marriage and that they have often times let romance and passion die with their wives and so the jokes take on another twist.
I'm not saying that this is the case for every joke about marriage and I think there's a balance in it, but I think we, as Christian men have far passed the line of respect and honour that we show God over His idea of Marriage.
It could be a suggestion for guys to study what God's word teaches about marriage and their responsibilities to their wives in relation to God. I think this would help all our relationships and may help to uplift this great institution of Marriage into a much higher view.
Passages to ponder:
Genesis 2:18-25, Song of Solomon, Ephesians 5:25-33, 1 Corinthians 7:3-5; 10-16, Proverbs 5:15-20
