Getting Serious about Getting Married, by Debbie Maken

An excerpt:
For so many women the tragic outcome of indefinite singleness is primarily the product of cultural forces that affect believers and nonbelievers alike-- an open-ended, male-friendly mating structure geared toward low-commitment, shallow, cyclical relationships as opposed to marriage; a protracted education system that doesn't really educate, containing students who embrace perpetual schooling without any commitment or direction to finding a meaningful calling for the purposes of settling into family life; parenting with only minimal expectations of self-sufficiency; under-involvement of fathers in the lives of their children; the defining down of adulthood and the elongation of youthful adolescence; the lack of male leadership; the removal of societal shame for being a perennial bachelor...We no longer have a culture that esteems marriage as a worthy goal, the crowning achievement of one's life. Culturally we think of marriage as optional, and the church agrees, citing God's will as justification for that belief. p. 91


It's quite interesting to read this book at this time, because of the discussion currently on the RUF list-serv. Other Kelly posted a link to an article by Al Mohler, in which he rebukes Christians for thinking as the world does regarding children. The subject is evidently a touchy one, and as we've been talking about it, we've turned towards another touchy subject: marriage and singleness. I had no idea what RUFers thought about singleness (in theory). I do know what I see-- which is exactly what Mrs. Maken describes-- the girls want to get married but are running in the opposite direction (career), and the guys seem to just be sitting around, waiting for life and wife to suddenly drop into their laps. I think the general consensus on the list-serv was, "Who are you (read: anyone) to tell me what to do?" Evidently we aren't allowed to say that God made the world to work a certain way--with families. It's been a frustrating discussion. I tend to just want to say, "Look, here's what the Bible says. Just do it." But, unfortunately, that doesn't usually work.