Marriage--Duty--and the Ideal of Enduring

We have many times been taught⎯or should have been⎯a profound lesson of life: that every ending is but a beginning. In considering the makings of a marriage, earnestly we could wish that all of these very beautiful beginnings would be dedicated to the ideal of enduring, always and forever.
Let us suppose⎯and we have a right to suppose⎯that each marriage is, in the first place, made in good faith, with enough love or respect, and other real and solid reasons, to assume that it was meant to be a lasting contract and commitment. The sacredness of the marriage covenant suggests no semblance or shadow of separation. But what happened to cause two people who have solemnly and sacredly given themselves to each other, then to pull apart⎯or later even to pull their children apart⎯with disillusionment and delinquency, with heartbreaks and hardships?
No one ever said truly and no one ever promised truly that marriage would be all moonlight and music. There are problems and sacrifices, and self-denial and difficulties and duty⎯and adjustments that all of us must meet, that all of us must make. And a marriage, once it is made, is no time for a letdown in life, but for a greater kind of kindness and consideration and courtesy. No marriage can safely be subjected to neglect. No marriage should be subjected to unkindness, or sarcasm, or ridicule, or any act of inconsideration.
And finally let’s not leave the subject without saying something again about duty: Duty seems to have become an unpopular word, partly perhaps because of the pursuit of personal pleasure. But it is a duty to pay a debt, and the law enforces it. It is a duty to live up to a contract, and the law enforces it. And it is a duty to make marriage work⎯ and in doing so one cannot consider himself only, nor the present only. He must consider the total effect of what he does⎯on himself, on children, on everyone⎯into the farthest reaches of the future.
And when two people enter into this sacred covenant and contract, they had better order their lives to find pleasure in doing their duty. (Anyone who has lost the capacity to find pleasure in his duty has lost much in life.)
To you who are beginning⎯and to you who are well along on the journey: Having accepted sacred obligation before God and men, with solemn and sacred covenants and commitments⎯then live and love and work with a sincerity of soul, with prayerfulness and cleanliness, with high character and kindliness, with good morals and good manners⎯ and make of marriage a dedicated career of sweet and solid and satisfying accomplishment, always and forever.