Marriage: ‘The most valuable way a couple can live’

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For over 25 years, Dave Percival has produced a weekly bulletin on all aspects of marriage aimed at professionals working in the area. I asked Dave what drives his passion, and why he feels there’s a greater need than ever to encourage people working in the marriage support community.

Back in the 90s, Dave tells me, the Government was still putting money into supporting marriage. But there was no regular collation of information for people working in marriage support. Dave thought he’d fill that gap. It acts, he says, “as a constant reminder that actually this ancient, valuable … God-given institution matters”.

I asked Dave what he had learned from processing all that information over the years. While marriage is often challenging and requires hard work, he says, “It is undoubtedly the most valuable way that a couple can live and raise children and contribute to society”. This is because of the permanency marriage brings: “You cannot commit … to complete openness, vulnerability and intimacy in an environment where you are unsure as to the long-term response of your partner.”

“There is a deep, deep joy”, Dave goes on, “in a couple relationship which is founded on unconditional love”.

At C4M, we appreciate the authentic joy and wider benefits that real marriage brings to individuals and society. That’s why it has been and always will be the stabilising bedrock of any thriving nation. And that’s why we continue to support and promote it.