Advice columnist Ann Landers once wrote, “More marriages are wrecked on the rocks of religious difference than most people can imagine.” It is a fact that religious differences are one of the principal causes of problems in marriages. How could it be otherwise? It could not be, unless our faith were unimportant to us. The only way religious differences can keep from being a problem is if we leave God out of our lives altogether, and then we really do have a problem.
Since it is important for married people to share the same faith, and since most problems do not work themselves out, I strongly recommend that couples with different faiths consider the following:
Attack the Problem, Not Each Other
Diligently attack and solve the problem by getting together in one church before problems arise.
Commit to Share
What is marriage anyhow but a sharing of two lives together at the deepest level. A man and woman love each other so deeply that they want to share the rest of their lives with one another. In marriage, everything important is shared—the same house, the same bed, the same income, and even the same name.
Sharing Demands Change
Such sharing would never be possible without someone’s changing. For example, the girl usually changes her name so they can share the same name. They each change their place of residence and lifestyle so that these can be shared. Sharing life demands change. Anything as important as one’s relationship to God as symbolized in church membership ought to be shared, even if someone has to change.
How to Change
What does a person need to do if he would like to unite his family in one church? The best thing to do is visit the pastor and let him share with you the exact requirements for joining a good church. While these requirements may demand some changes of certain preferences, the blessings of a united home are worth whatever they might be.