Who needs marriage?!

I just recently read a blog about Jamie Lynn Spears calling off her wedding to her boyfriend. (No, I didn't seek it out, it was a banner on a "your baby" email and I was intrigued.) She and her boyfriend still live together and are happily enjoying their 9 month old daughter, but decided to put off the "pressure" of marriage for now. What's the difference anyhow, it's just a piece of paper and a ring Spears claims.

Shudder, vomit, scream, run, hide, and whatever other reaction you can think of that shows my distaste. We all know how the world feels about marriage. It's no secret. The article didn't really surprise me and I couldn't care less about Ms. Spears. However, I found the comments to the blog more shocking that the actual news itself. I included a few just to give you a taste of how wonderfully whacky society's standards are now:

To answer your question Whit the point of living with someone if you are not married is to get to know the person before you marry. Don’t judge others for being realistic. I lived with my husband for 7 years before we married and marriage did not change anything. We’ve always been happy married or co-habitating. I don’t believe in doing anything blindly. Over 50% of marriages end in divorce. Let’s get real please and if you can save yourself till marriage great for you. But those are unrealistic standards for the majority of people.

So nothing changed after you got married? No stronger commitment or obligation to each other? That's sad. And so what if 50% of marriages end in divorce? Marriage just doesn't happen to you. It should be a conscious choice, one that you recommit to and work together on every day. It's easy to avoid divorce. Don't be a stupid idiot. And why is it so unrealistic to save one's self for marriage? Does no one know how to control themselves anymore? I know, we want instant gratification and if marriage is just a piece of paper, why wait?

I think that it would be better for her not to get married yet. She has a child and she is still a child her self. I think she needs to focus on the child first and then maybe a year or so down the road then start the planning of their wedding. You have a child that needs you focus on that and not add extra stress on top of a child

If she is a child herself, then why the heck is she having a child? No one seems to have a problem with that one! Yeah, because planning a wedding and being married is SO much more stressful than being a parent. Right? Maybe if you have nannies to care for your children. Argh!

I think shes doing the right thing, shes got a little baby girl already so why not wait to get married. getting married doesn't really mean nothing now a days!
im a mum of a 15 month old and have been with my bf for 4yrs and marriage is deff not on the cards just yet! xxx

Yep, getting married doesn't mean anything! Good for you not being married. That way it'll be a lot easier for your boyfriend to leave you when he wants to. And let's tell her she is doing the right thing so we don't feel guilty about our own mistakes. Plus, I want an unwed bratty teenage mom to be my child's hero, don't you?

I think at their young age it is better to wait for marriage. If they are happy in the situation they’re in & their daughter is well cared for, then it’s probably a smart move to give themselves time to figure out who they are as individuals & what they really want from life & a marriage. I don’t think any teenager really has all of that figured out. Better to put it off than to marry too soon & have it end in divorce, especially with a child involved. I think it actually shows a bit of maturity on their part.

I agree that they are young and need to figure out themselves. However, they should have thought about that before having sex, which resulted in said child. No matter what anyone says, they are no longer kids. They are parents and need to act as such. Whatever they want out of life better include that child they had together. But I know, I'm assuming they would actually be responsible people by saying the above. Oh yeah, and it would be far worse for their child for them to get a divorce than split up because then there wouldn't be that whole name change thing. Don't want mom and dad to make an commitment that really would be in the best interest of the child. And as for maturity, you're kidding, right? They are immature, which is shown by the fact that they are teenage parents. Um, yeah.

I grew up around divorce and switching between my mom and dad on the weekends. That was not fun. But it didn't turn me off to marriage. Instead of running away from and avoiding it, I realized marriage is a beautiful wonderful thing, if nourished properly. It really makes me angry to see people treat marriage so lightly. There is a huge difference between living together and being married. And having married parents makes a giant impact on any child. I didn't go "blindly" into my marriage. It took a lot of prayer. We married only after two months of being engaged and have been happily married for 8 1/2 years. What we are doing takes maturity and understanding, not the world's way of avoiding commitment. Thank goodness for the Gospel and a sound understanding that marriage and family are sacred and holy!