Married couples may go through necessary and sufficient
conditions. One or both of them may be
doing what’s necessary. Staying in the relationship is necessary to keep the
marriage alive. But even though staying in a situation may be necessary, it may
not be sufficient to keep the marriage alive. If you know that the right thing
to do is to keep your marriage alive, then you will do what is also sufficient,
which is to love and respect each other without becoming intolerant towards the
other person.
Often, one spouse may not do what is necessary because the other
spouse is not doing what is sufficient to sustain the relationship. This is
apparent when one spouse leaves the household because the other spouse is not showing
love or respect. You may also notice couples doing only what is necessary and
not doing what is sufficient when a spouse just stays in the Status Quo because they know it’s the
only way to keep the marriage alive. However, they may be harboring ill-will
towards the other spouse. As such, not showing love or respect. In order for a
marriage to be alive and vibrant, both partners must do what is necessary AND
sufficient.
If the marriage goes south, it is the partner’s fault that didn’t
do what was necessary and it’s the partner’s fault that didn’t do what was
sufficient. Of course, marriage is not all that important to a lot of people.
We all hear of celebrities getting married one month and getting divorced the
next. When we become desensitized to marriage and it becomes a byword, then it
may not be all that important to do what’s necessary OR what’s sufficient.
