I'm happy to say the young fellow recognized how unfair he was, and the couple worked out their differences. Even though they didn't go deer hunting on their honeymoon, they went together later!
The King James Version renders the rest of
Mark 10:7, "... and cleave unto his wife." Not only does the man need to be willing to leave, he must also cleave unto her. Cleave is an Old English word with many different meanings. It could denote a splitting a piece of wood right down the middle. But it could also mean sticking something together. The Greek word here translated "united" or "cleave" is the word for glue. So Jesus is really saying: "When you come into marriage, you are glued together, and you are committed to that gluing."
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I could put it this way. At the end of a marriage service it would be quite legitimate for the groom to turn to his bride and say, "I am going to stick to you through thick and thin." And she could respond, "Right, and you're stuck with me!" We are emphasizing here that commitment is the bedrock of marriage-a truth that needs to be reiterated in our day.
Instead, our society takes a very sophisticated approach: "We will go into marriage and accept the fact it's not easy," people say. "It's for mature people, and there's a high possibility we may make a mistake, or we may not be suited to each other. If that is the case, we'll be sensible and adult about it. We'll divide our resources and decide who gets custody of the children. Our lawyers will take care of it, and we'll remain the best of friends."
Sounds great, doesn't it? But what a gross parody and caricature this is of marriage as God ordained it. Let's call it what it is. God intended for us to take our marriage vows seriously. He knew that if we entered marriage with all the attractive options open, we wouldn't bother to work at it. So God, in effect, said, "Make the commitment. Recognize that once you take that step it's 'for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, till death us do part'." When you make that kind of commitment, you'll survive the difficulties. On the other hand, if you know that there is an easy way out, you won't bother to try.
Our society does not recognize marriage as a divine institution and is not committed to it. But when the wedding vows include a deep commitment, a couple can build on that commitment a superstructure of thoroughly mature living.
One of the most beautiful things about marriage is to observe couples who have truly committed themselves to that relationship. Believe it or not, love can grow! I know couples who have been married forty, fifty, and even sixty years. One spouse may be nursing the other, but their love is growing more Christlike as they serve one another. Josh McDowell and Paul Lewis wrote a book called Givers, Takers and Other Kinds of Lovers. It's the givers who are truly lovers!