Assignment 1: Contemporary Issues: The Paradox of Relationships

     Look anywhere in secular media today, and you'll find the latest scoops on celebrity break-ups, make-ups, and gossip of the worst sort.  Dig through the supermarket tabloids, and you'll be introduced to the largest curriculum of dating advice available.  Turn on any secular radio station or TV show, and you'll be privy to intimate conversations regarding dating, relationships, and everything in between.  It seems our culture is obsessed with interactions between men and women, no matter what that interaction may involve.  Even kids as young as middle school age are overwhelmed by the pressure to have a boyfriend or girlfriend.  It's a status symbol like no other if you've kissed a boy, or have survived a break-up, or have gotten a girl to sleep with you.  Those with these qualifications are the kings and queens of their worlds; those without are shunned and looked down upon.  
     More often than not, teens and even adults look to their dating relationships for fulfillment.  Being with that special person becomes the obsession of their life; they do anything and everything to be sure that their relationship will not end.  In short, they make their boyfriend or girlfriend their idol.
     When a relationship reaches this stage of all-or-nothing, it becomes dangerous.    Either one or both of the people involved become so reliant on their relationship with that person that the thought of living without them is unbearable.  They stay loyal to that person because they feel defined by their relationship.  People go through verbal, emotional, even physical abuse and still remain in that relationship, simply because they feel that they cannot leave.  This is where one of the most unrealistic paradoxes in our culture exists.  Dating and relationships should be a positive, good thing, but when taken too far, they become deadly.   
     Obviously, this is not a Christian world-view.  As Christians, our fulfillment should be in Christ.  We worship Him alone, and His glory should be our obsession.  Seeking final fulfillment in a human relationship will ultimately end in disappointment.  This applies to marriages, too.  Unless God and His glory are the center of the relationship, then there is little chance that the interaction will not end in pain.  
     Throughout the Bible, the Word emphasizes God's care for His people.  Psalm 23 is perhaps the most famous reference for this, and Psalm 27* also extolls the virtues of God's power and providence.  Perhaps the greatest chronicle of God's providence for His people is Hebrews 11**, where the author relates tales of Biblical heroes that trusted in God fully and were rewarded for their faith.  Only God can be our final fulfillment, and when we do put our trust in Him, He will never disappoint.  


Links:
*http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2027&version=NIV


**http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%2011&version=NIV