by David Scott Robertson
A very beautiful woman marries a very handsome man.
The perfect couple, so it seems.
A few years go by and they divorce.
Why?
The flaw of familiarity.
We see this phenomenon at work all the time in our society.
No degree of physical beauty,
No level of mutual attraction between two individuals,
However intense,
Can overcome the internal flaw of familiarity.
Time sees to that.
What is the “flaw of familiarity?”
It’s the force behind billions of dollars of annual sales of products and services in our economy.
It’s what makes the man sell the bass boat to get a bigger, faster, better equipped model.
It’s the influence behind trading a perfectly good car for one of another color.
It’s why the pontoon boat,
The cabin at the lake,
The 4-wheeler,
The Harley,
The pickup truck,
The wife,
Just does sparkle, glitter, and shine quite like it/she used to.
Even our beloved pets are not immune to it.
The kitten or puppy that once evoked such giddy delight from a child
Sooner or later succumbs to the flaw as the poor creature falls from grace in the eyes of the child
And is replaced in their hearts by the latest toy or doodad.
Why? How?
The flaw of familiarity.
The most dramatic and traumatic expression of this is in the arena of human relationships.
It’s in that context that the maximum amount of emotional fallout occurs.
The ultimate demonstration of the flaw among married people is a horror called divorce.
No matter who marries who,
Regardless of how pretty, attractive, sensuous, or appealing they are at the time,
The relationship is on an inevitable collision-course with the flaw of familiarity.
Whether or not I can adequately explore and explain the flaw,
I do know this to be a fact:
If you are a member of the human race,
Sooner or later you will discover the meaning of it.
I’m not implying that the flaw of familiarity is sin
Like the flaw of the fallen nature
That we inherited by virtue of being born
A son of Adam or daughter of Eve.
No it’s not a sin issue until it begins to manifest in
Deviant, rebellious, selfish, unlawful and/or anti-Biblical behavior.
Think about it.
We see it all the time.
A woman will violate her marriage covenant and sleep with a man who is not her husband.
A man will trade wives like he trades cars.
A couple will acquire unnecessary debt that erodes away their financial stability,
All because of the almost gravitational pull of desire to have, to possess, to“prosper.”
So what’s the antidote?
Jesus Christ.
“ Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Heb 13:5 NIV)
DSR
11/17/01