Genesis Chapter 2
It wasn’t until the second chapter of Genesis that God continued to paint the rest of the picture. Starting in Genesis 2:7, “the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”Immediately, God created a garden and put him in it to — subdue the land and rule over the animals…just as God created him in to do. But, there was no way for him to fill the earth. So God said “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (v.2:18). So the LORD God made him go nighty-night, took a rib, and made a woman (v.20-22). You now have the first family ever created: Male-mankind, the husband, Adam, and female-mankind, the wife, Eve. AND…the three goals they are responsible for carrying out: filling, subduing, and ruling the earth.
They accomplished their goals by God divvying up the roles and responsibilities. To fill the earth — well…you already know who was responsible for which roles in that process (if you don’t, then I recommend a remedial reading assignment — The Birds and the Bees). To subdue the land, Genesis 2:15-22 said the man’s role was to “work” the land and “take care of it”. To rule the land, God “…brought [the animals] to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.” Conversely, the woman’s role was to be the suitable” helper“.
So now we have the whole picture. God made male and female mankind with the goals of filling the earth, and subduing and ruling over everything on the in the water, in the sky, and on the earth. To accomplish those goals, God gave male-mankind the role and responsibility of working the land and taking care of it. And He gave female-mankind a different role and responsibility of being a suitable helper to male-mankind.
Marriage vs. Organizations
So what does all this have to do with your marriage or relationship? I submit to you…marriage does not function as a group, which has no goals. It functions as an organization, with two people, a common goal(s), and each person having different roles and responsibilities that lead towards accomplishing that common goal.
No, I’m not saying that God designed marriage to be an organization. Not at all. According to scripture, God created marriage as a model to demonstrate the relationship between Christ and the church (Eph 5:31-32). But in so doing, the model He created has the exact same structure, form, and function of an organization.
Now…this might not be what your marriage looks like. But I’m not talking about your marriage or relationship. Because I don’t know you…how your marriage is structured…or how it operates. But the marriage institution that God created is structured and operates like an organization. And married couples still have the same goals today as they did back in Adam and Eve’s day.
God has given the responsibility of filling the earth to married couples. With the abundance of children born into single-parent homes, we both can agree that today’s reality doesn’t reflect the prescribed plan (not judging…just stating the facts). He still wants families and family values to subdue society’s moral compass from those that advance a self reliant, Darwinistic belief where anything goes. And He still wants us to exercise authority over fish, birds, and animals in the earth — rather than allowing animals or trees to govern what we do with our lands.
The goals are the same, but they are carried out differently by each family. Each couple has their own unique role and responsibility God has assigned to them. You’re reading my role and responsibility right now.
God’s plan has never changed. It’s not outdated. It doesn’t need an upgrade, re-branding, or a make-over…regardless if current realities or state laws passed 5000 years later say otherwise.
So whatever kind of relationship you are in, dating, engaged, or you’re currently married, if you ever want to have a successful marriage, you must structure it like an organization: you must have some common goals, and you must have different roles and responsibilities that lead toward that common goals.
Back to the Calvin and LaShon story…
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Ah, i see. Well tha’ts not too tricky at all!”