Nothing attests to compatibility of Adam and Eve better than this verse. Yet, a problem brewed in chapter 3 of Genesis. We often think that once a couple is compatible, everything is sorted. The case of the first family says otherwise. As important as compatibility is, it is not sufficient to sustain a marriage. Couples that have lasted the distance have known the importance of making compromises. When we speak of compromises, we are not talking about things that will violate the laws of God and man, or that which will endanger life. We refer to things like personal tastes and preferences. This is where couples learn to defer to one another. Those who will make good of their relationship must learn to live by Augustinian maxim: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity”.

As important as compatibility is, it is not sufficient to sustain a marriage. Couples that have lasted the distance have known the importance of making compromises…In addition…there has to be unwavering commitment.

In addition to compatibility and compromises, there has to be unwavering commitment. Marriage vows are being trivialised and trimmed these days. Here is the traditional marriage vow: “I take you, to be my lawfully wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part”. This vow is a commitment to support one another through all of life’s circumstances. Some denominations have edited this to read “for better, for best; for richer, for richest”. This is why modern marriages lack commitment and cracks at the slightest challenge.