There’s a great article going around entitled “Marriage Isn’t For You” that very eloquently explains why marriage should not be a self-centered commitment in which one is concerned only with their own happiness. Rather, the article claims, marriage is about your spouse—about making them happy and helping them to actualize “their wants, their needs, their hopes, and their dreams.” While I think this article has good intentions, I don’t think that it takes its thesis far enough. Sure, marriage is not for you, but ultimately it’s not for your spouse either—it’s for God.

Like the author claims, marriage is definitely not about making yourself happy, but it’s not always about making your spouse happy either. True love is focused on God, and that sometimes means making people unhappy in order to draw them closer to God. Marriage is not about making your spouse smile or laugh every day. Marriage is not…