Values in marriage, sexuality and the family

Abstract

A value is that quality of a thing thought of as being more or less desirable, useful, estimable and important. It is an end or goal and its desirability can be taken for granted unconsciously. The thrust of this paper is therefore to rekindle in couples marital values; establish how they control human sexuality and therefore affect the family. This is pertinent in view of the fact that the value one places on something influences one's attitude to it while that attitude determines future value. An attitude here is a predisposition to like or dislike something. Marriage, a unit of every family, provides husband and wife sexual access to each other; as well as security, both financial and emotional. The family is the offshoot of every society; marriage the unit of every family; therefore marriage is the root of every society. The spiritual and cultural attainments of the individual members of a family are a reflection of the influences existing within the family circle. The paper therefore recommends, inter alia, that parents owe it as a duty to be perfect examples before their children because children are imitators. The lifestyle and habits of parents easily get transmitted to them. The veneration in which marriage is held in the home is a reliable index of the moral quality of the home.