The missing piece in the jigsaw

The other day I found myself 'inadvertently' eavesdropping on the conversation of some two young men. They were talking about Aids, sex and marriage.
One of them was saying that men (quite an outlandish generalization) cannot do without sex. He went on to say that as long as a man is 'functioning' then sex is the sure release of his building pressure.

Then the insalubrious 'party pooper' was brought into the picture: Aids. They fear Aids. Talking of Aids as if talking of the weather is sheer madness (what I learnt from what they were saying). They said that with Aids lurking somewhere in the shadows of 'after sex' then a tricky situation had plunged headlong onto the scene.

One of the two (a bachelor, I learnt) said that with Aids marring the beautiful picture that once gleamed in the light, marriage had become a no-tread zone to many a young man. He said that he would 'marry' for two or three years and, after getting a kid or two, tell the woman (read wife),
"Your time's up. Pack your bags and leave!" He would retain the children (with that he would have accomplished his goal in life!).

They viewed sex as a way of letting off 'steam' and marriage as a 'factory' for making children; after that: to hell with it!

This is a dim view of reality. Sex and marriage are beautiful things created by God. Sex serves its purpose divinely in the context of marriage. And marriage is more than just 'where children are made' but rather where we learn to use our God-given talents to benefit each other (the married) in exciting ways that increase the gushes and torrents of love.

Still on the issue of marriage, sample what Bishop T.D. Jakes has to say to the married and the ones aspiring to be married one day.

What it means to be married

"To the one you are marrying you are saying: when my time comes to leave this world, when the chill of eternity blows away my birthdays and my future stands still in the night, it's your face I want to kiss goodbye. It's your hand I want to squeeze, as I slip from time to eternity. As the curtain closes on all I have attempted to do and be, I want to look into your eyes and see that I mattered. Not what I looked like or how much money I made, or even how talented I was. I just want to look into the eyes of someone who loved me and see that I mattered."

This is quite a huge price tag attached to the marriage institution and certainly the missing piece in the jigsaw. What do you think?